Secret Exchange
by Haru Cherry
Summary: RyoxSaku Pairing: Sharing was not something he does everyday, yet he was caught off guard by telling the auburn haired girl, '...Ryuzaki...I have insomnia...'
1. The Sudden Fall

A/N: I hope you enjoy the fic.

Summary: RyoxSaku: Echizen Ryoma has been down lately after he was sick and nobody knows why. Somehow, for some crazy reason, he told his hidden thoughts to Ryuzaki Sakuno. In order to keep the girl quiet, tennis lessons were available and Ryoma was her guide. With all the time with him during her lessons, will Sakuno eventually tell him something also? And how long can she keep the secrets to herself? My first Prince of Tennis fic.

"- Dialogue

'- Thoughts

_Italics_- Dream/Song(if)/Flashbacks

OOOOO- Scene change

**DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN ANIME/MANGA PRINCE OF TENNIS. PRINCE OF TENNIS OR TENNIS NO OJI-SAMA BELONGS TO **TAKESHI KONOMI**.

* * *

_Dream Sequence_

_"Play to the end!"_

_"Be Seigaku's Pillar of Support!"_

_A young boy ran through a dark tunnel as fast as he could. So many images appeared in his mind and he tried not to think about them. Shouts and screams echoed throughout the tunnel._

_"Play a match with me!"_

_"Seishounen, show them power!"_

_"Is that all?! Come on!"_

_He didn't know what he was running away from, but he just had the urge to just search to the end of the tunnel. He held his crimson tennis racket tightly with his hand and felt like the ground turn into a tennis court. He stopped when a huge net was blocking his way and he had no choice but to jump high to cross through. _

_At last, the light of the tunnel began to appear before his eyes. He panted and quickly dashed to the end. But when he was about to pass through, darkness clouded the exit and everything was pitch black..._

* * *

**Secret Exchange**

**By: HaruCherry510**

Chapter 1: The Sudden Fall

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OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 

The morning sunrise rose up through the city of Tokyo, Japan. White faded clouds drifted through the no longer dark sky, but a bright sea color to start the day. People did a regular routine to get ready for business, work, school, or clubs being held at this very day. Unfortunately, one didn't feel like rising at all.

The sun's rays peeked through the blinds of a young junior high student's window. The sunlight bathed the boy's face and he slightly moved. The loud alarm on top of his bed went off. For a few seconds, he sat up from his bed and stopped the alarm with a press of a button. He stared down at his sheets with his emotionless feline eyes. At the moment, he felt like he wanted to lie back down and go back to dreamland. But knowing he might be late, Echizen Ryoma had to get ready. He stood up slowly as possible but he rushed through standing up. Discomfort exploded in his head and he rubbed his temples. He sat himself down; he had to get ready for morning tennis practice and he couldn't afford himself late. It came to the point that he realized he was sick with a fever. With quick pace, a little Himalayan cat with droplet sapphire eyes gazed at the boy. The small cat licked Ryoma's hand placed on the bed and Ryoma stared down to see the cat purr. He made a small smile and patted the cat's head.

"Ohayo, Karupin." He said softly.

"Ryoma! It's time to get ready!" Ryoma's cousin Nanako shouted downstairs. Ryoma made no response and stopped petting the cat. He stood up to get ready for school, knowing that it might be a bad day for him.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Ah, Ryoma, you're up. Breakfast is on the table." Nanako replied.

'He should be happy today...' Nanako thought as her long dark hair reached her mid-back and she wore an apron in the kitchen.

Ryoma went down the stairs with his school uniform, yet he had difficulty because of his condition. He was lucky that Nanako didn't see him coming down and he sat down to stare down at his breakfast. He saw the Japanese styled breakfast, which made him happy at least, but he didn't feel like eating. He knew his mother, Echizen Rinko, made it for him before she took off with some errands. Nanako placed two bottles of milk on the table for Ryoma to drink. Ryoma picked up his chopsticks and started to eat some food. He tried not to show that he was a bit off today because people were concerned for every little thing that didn't bother him.

"I'm done." Ryoma stood up and Nanako eyed the plate. To her surprise, the young tennis player only ate half of his rice but his fish was barely touched! He always ate everything if it was Japanese. If it was American styled, he would only eat the piece of bread and nothing else.

"Ryoma, are you sure you don't want to eat the rest?"

"Yeah." If Ryoma looked at food one more time, he might get more sick. At least he finished the two bottles of milk, that was what he really wanted to have for the morning. Nanako tilted her head with concern.

"Are you okay?" She ended up asking the question that Ryoma didn't want to hear. Ryoma didn't know how to answer the question so he just nodded his head. Nanako still wasn't convinced one bit. She stepped a little closer in front of the boy and lifted her hand away from her apron.

"Let me-"

"Nanako, I'm fine." Ryoma stepped away from the kitchen as he heard his senpai call out to hurry up. He rushed to the front door to put on his shoes, grabbing his tennis equipment, and closed the door shut; leaving Nanako alone with his father. Echizen Nanjiroh, retired tennis pro, stepped inside from the backyard with a newspaper at hand. He wore a black robe as he went over to the kitchen.

Scratching his lazy head he asked, "He already left?" Nanako nodded her head faintly and continued to cook.

"He was pretty off lately..."

"He's always like that! Let him-" But before he could finish his sentence, he eyed the half-warm fish in front of him.

"Ano...Nanako, did you fry this yet?" Nanjiroh poke the fish playfully.

"I already did. It was for Ryoma, but he didn't eat it." Nanako replied.

"He didn't eat the fish?"

"He only ate that bowl of rice..." Nanjiroh spotted the rice and it was half eaten. He was a bit confused with his son's appetite, but decided that it wasn't serious. Nanako started to do more household chores and left the kitchen to get some equipment.

'Uncle, when Ryoma left, I could've sworn a shade of red was on his face.'

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Momo-senpai, matte."

Takeshi Momoshiro was a great friend to Ryoma at the school. As a 2nd year at Seishun Gakuen, or for short, Seigaku, he played tennis and was a regular at the tennis club. Dark purple eyes and broom-like hair, he rode his bike as slow as possible for Ryoma to catch up.

"Hoy! If we're late, it's going to be your fault!" He exclaimed. Ryoma reached inside his tennis bag to get his white Fila cap. He doesn't usually wear it this early in the morning, but the shade of red on his face was starting to show when he passed a side car mirror. He took a breath and tried his best to show that nothing was wrong with him.

"Heh. Made made dane." He replied his special saying as his walking started to pick up speed.

"Hey! Chotto matte!"

They made it to their school and went to the tennis club to put their equipment away. It seemed that the other Seigaku Regulars were already inside the school to get to their classes. Ryoma still had his cap on, but he knew that he had to put it down when he steps into his homeroom. He was walking with Momoshiro until-

"NYA! Ohayo, Ochibi!" Ryoma felt arms pounce behind him and eyed the obvious person. Kikumaru Eiji, 3rd year, looked similar as a 'neko' with curious eyes. His acrobatic plays at tennis were fantastic when he was paired up with Oishi, the vice-captain of the tennis club. He had his usual grin on his face as he greeted the freshman.

"E-Eiji-senpai, let go." Ryoma was losing some of his air supply. Eiji gladly let go of the freshman. He pulled down the rim of his hat.

"Why are you wearing your cap? You wear it at the tennis courts!" Eiji asked. Ryoma frowned when people messed with his hat.

"I feel like wearing it." Ryoma silently went inside his homeroom, as Momoshiro and Eiji were a bit confused with his behavior.

"Eh, Momoshiro. Is he acting different than usual?" Eiji asked with a worried look in his eyes. Momoshiro shook his head.

"He must have an off day. Let's go." Momoshiro turned around and saw his tennis rival, Kaidoh- who was a 2nd year and Seigaku tennis regular like Momoshiro. He had his bandana off, revealing his slick black hair to show. He had eyes that looked like a piercing wild snake.

"Watch where you're going-Fssssshhh." Kaidoh hissed.

"Why don't you watch where you're going, mamushi!" Momoshiro called out.

"What did you say?" Kaidoh retorted.

"You heard me!" It came to the point that possible sparks of electricity were firing into each others' eyes. Eiji sweat dropped and tried to stop them from any physical violence.

For the freshman however, Ryoma sat down on his desk and eyed more students coming in. He took his cap off and rubbed his temples as his fever was a bother.

"Echizen?!"

"Hm? Ryoma-sama? OHAYO!"

'Great...' Ryoma thought as the people he knew most came inside the homeroom.

Horio and his two friends from the tennis club came inside and Osakada Tomoka arrived also. Horio was known as a bragger for his two years of experience of tennis and pretty much annoyed Ryoma sometimes. Tomoka had light brown hair pigtails and was wearing the Seigaku school uniform for girls. It consisted a dark green skirt and a light green shirt with a pink ribbon in the middle. She was also known as the leader of the 'Echizen Ryoma Fan Club'.

"I-It's really early for you to be here Ryoma-kun." Ryoma looked up to see another girl behind Tomoka. Her name was a blur to Ryoma but he knew her. She was the granddaughter of the Seigaku tennis coach, Ryuzaki Sumire. She had long dark auburn hair that was braided into two pigtails. Her chocolate colored eyes stared at him with concern.

"You're right Sakuno." Tomoka said, now noticing that he was early. He was late most of the time to his homeroom classes.

"Why'd you came early, Echizen?" Horio wondered.

Ryoma didn't feel like answering so many questions; he just wanted to be alone at the moment. The bell saved him from further questions and the homeroom teacher arrived to teach the lesson. Echizen had problems paying attention to the lesson, but he didn't care knowing that he knew the subject by heart. So he ended up staring at the window throughout the entire time in the homeroom- to close his eyes and rest.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Throughout lunch and the end of the school day, Ryoma was alone the entire time. During lunch, he stayed at the rooftop of the school and took a small nap, making him skip the lesson again. He ended up getting away from the loud group to close his mind a little. But his sickness started to worsen every passing hour. He was seriously going to have a problem with afternoon tennis practice...

"All right." Kunimitsu Tezuka commanded everyone to form around.

Tezuka was known to be the captain of Seigaku's tennis club, wearing spectacles and has light brown hair. He started to explain the tennis agenda for today, but Ryoma hid his face with his white Fila cap. Being in front of his buchou was nerve-racking; he might see his taint flustered cheeks and his captain might scold him. Behind the fence, Ryuzaki Sakuno was holding her school bag to see the tennis club practice but saw Ryoma's head down. Her lips turned into a straight line and her eyes were gazing at the boy. Tomoka had to leave earlier to take care of her brothers so Sakuno was left alone with nothing to do.

'Daijoubu desu ka...Ryoma-kun?' Sakuno gripped her school bag nervously. Earlier during lunch, Sakuno found him having coughing fits at the rooftop and she was worried about him. She had a gut feeling that something would happen very soon.

Tezuka finally sent them off to play practice matches. Everyone was sent to seperate courts- Regulars, or special players that compete in tournaments, go to Court A and B while other tennis club players either go to C or D to practice back and forehand swings. As for freshmen members, they either help out with other people or pick up tennis balls that were being left on the ground.

For certain people who were late for practice, they had to run laps and drink the dreaded concoction made from Inui. Inui was known to be a data carrier for Seigaku. He collected data from various players from different schools that they compete in. The dreaded juice that he made was known to help people, but most people just got unconscious.

"Echizen! Your serve." Momo threw the small tennis ball to the opposite side of the court the two of them were in. Ryoma was caught off guard, but he grabbed the ball with his hand without hitting him in the face. He took position for his serve using his right hand.

'Twist serve...' Momo was getting ready to return the ball. Ryoma threw the tennis ball high in the air and served the ball to Momo. But Momo's eyes widened when the ball hit the net. The freshman would never have a bad serve during a practice match- especially his Twist Serve.

"Hey! Serve already!" Momo shouted out loud. Ryoma just wanted Momo to be quiet, the match was only beginning. Ryoma did a regular serve instead and it went over the net. Momo returned it with ease and Ryoma did the same. During the match though, Momo noticed that Ryoma's returns were a bit weaker than usual. Momo did his famous smashes and the surprise was that Ryoma missed it.

"15-Love." Momo called out. Ryoma panted with exhaustion. While he was returning the ball with his racket, he was looking at eight balls coming at him. He shrugged the thought as they continued the match. For a few minutes, Momo had the lead with two games.

"Nani?! Momo-chan-senpai is beating Echizen!" Horio cried out loud.

"You okay?" Momo asked the young tennis player as they changed courts for the next game. Ryoma only nodded and lowered the bill of the cap. But as he was walking, he reached his point. He closed his eyes and fell to the ground with a thud; his face planted at the court. The regulars eyed the young tennis player on the ground and their eyes widened with shock.

'RYOMA-KUN!' Sakuno thought as she opened the tennis gates and went over to him.

"Echizen!" Momo rushed over first since he was one playing him. He sat him up on the ground and shook his shoulder.

"Wake up. Echizen!" Momo continued to try waking him up. The regulars dropped their rackets and went over to the court. The other players couldn't help but look at the different court.

"What happened?" Fuji, the tennis tensai, asked.

"He just dropped dead." Momo continued to shake his shoulder.

"Ah! Ochibi!" The freshman player winced and opened his eyes wearily.

"Ano...I'm fine." Ryoma stood up but he was sent back to the ground again as he couldn't stand up that well. Sakuno bit her lip awkwardly and could only see Ryoma with problems. Oishi took off Ryoma's cap and felt his forehead. He quickly stopped when his hand was on fire.

"High fever! You should go home!" Oishi exclaimed. Ryoma shook his head.

"Betsu ni."

"He's sick?" Kawamura Takashi responded.

"Nothing's wrong with me!" Ryoma complained.

"Everyone, back to your courts!" Everyone turned to see Tezuka command an order and the regulars took one last look at Ryoma and went back. Momo and Sakuno were the only ones that stayed with him.

"Ryoma?" His captain kneeled down to take a look at him. Ryoma's face glistened with sweat and only nodded his head. Tezuka touched Ryoma's forehead and Ryoma winced slightly. Not having much of a choice, Tezuka commanded, "Go home. Practice is over today for you."

"I'M FINE!" Ryoma's stubborn side started to show.

"Ryoma, it's best if you get rest. Otherwise you'll be at the sidelines during tournaments!" Tezuka replied back. Ryoma only glared at his captain as Momo helped him up.

"Just do as he say, Echizen." Momo whispered in his ear.

Ryoma grabbed his cap that was on the ground and turned to get changed. Everyone eyed him with confusion. The regulars have to be in tip-top condition before their next tournament and one of them wasn't. Inui was surprised because Ryoma was following the menu of food everyday and the proper exercise. How did he get sick? His calculations must be checked once more. Sakuno watched Ryoma come back a few minutes and made a farewell with only a nod. Worrying so much for the tennis player, Sakuno decided to go home without her grandmother. She wanted to follow him just in case.

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-HaruCherry


	2. Visiting

A/N: Chapter 2 of Secret Exchange. Enjoy! And thanks to the reviewers:) Really happy.

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Secret Exchange

Chapter 2: Visiting

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Fsssssh. We're just going to leave him alone like that?" Kaidoh watched as Ryoma left the corner of the school to get some rest.

"He'll be all right. Besides, someone will follow him anyway..." Momo whispered to Kaidoh as he pointed to a pigtailed girl, trailing behind him.

'Youth...so young...'

"80 percent of Echizen will be all right, 51 percent that he will have a more frustrated day today, and 94 percent that he is being followed." Inui quickly scribbled lots of data inside his notebook by the courts. He adjusted his glasses so that they would be in a good position.

"Interesting..."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The sounds of beeps and honks from various cars echoed throughout the street. Ryoma walked slowly through the sidewalk with his tennis bag slung on his shoulder. He couldn't believe that he fell like that, he couldn't believe it. So much for hiding his cover. He always disliked admitting that he wasn't feeling well.

Behind the alleys, Sakuno peeked through and continued to follow the tennis prince. Her home was nearby anyway and she might come home early. Watching the tennis player like this made her have a sinking feeling. The crosswalk turned a light green meaning that it was safe for everyone to walk to the other side. Sakuno went out of the alley and followed him more. While walking back home, Ryoma swished around because of the dizziness- yet he was strong enough to regain a good composure.

The young girl knew that Ryoma was near his house so she decided to take her leave. She hoped that Ryoma felt better soon. Sakuno couldn't help but like Ryoma very much. The first time she met him was at a train when she was being bullied by three tennis players. He was oblivious about saving her, but he just put that memory to the side. It was also the time when she accidently gave him the wrong direction to where the tennis club was, which she wasn't happy about. After all those things, she was glad that she could see him play. She walked away and turned to another path for home.

In the meantime, Ryoma leaned against the gates of his home and watched the small clouds above him; having to come home early and watching the light blue sky didn't feel the same when he came home during sunset.

"Tadaima..." Ryoma mumbled as he closed the wooden door to his house.

No response.

Ryoma had a pretty good guess as to where his family members were: Nanako was at the market, his mother busy with usual things to do outside of the house, and of course his father was probably looking through _unusual_ magazines or picking up girls at the matter. He sighed and decided to change out of his uniform to more comfortable clothes. After he was done with that, he went to the kitchen to have a glass of cool water and added some ice from the freezer. He drank almost half of the water as he walked to the couch and settled himself down. He rest his head on a cerulean pillow and placed his glass on a table. His fever started to rise so he decided to have a small nap. A few hours later passed and out in the front door a monk with a straw hat was holding the latest magazine addition he had been waiting for a long time.

"Ha ha! Finally! All that waiting paid off!" He laughed with glee as he opened the front door. He closed it with a slam and when he took his slippers off he ended up tripping on something on the floor.

"Itai!" He cried as he landed on the hard tatami floor with a thump. He rubbed his head a few times before he could figure out what tripped him. Looking behind him was his son's tennis gear and white shoes.

'He's home early.' Nanjiroh went upstairs to see if his theory was true. He opened Ryoma's door to see nothing but his messy room. His uniform was neatly folded on the bed, but he was no where in sight. He closed the door, but heard coughing downstairs. He went down to find Ryoma sitting up from the couch drinking a glass of water. Nanjiroh placed his special magazine on the tabletop and went over to him.

'He's here...' Ryoma thought as he sensed a presence behind the couch.

"You're usually home around sunset. Practice end early?" His father asked. Ryoma took a sip of water to clear his throat.

"What do you want?" He groaned.

"Well, why not a game of tennis?" Nanjiroh asked with his idiotic grin. Ryoma shook his head no.

"Don't feel like it eh? Are you afraid you're going to lose as usual?" His father comented. Ryoma lowered his head and muttered.

"Baka oyaji."

"Eh? Learn to respect your elders kid!" With one swift second, Nanjiroh playfully hit Ryoma on the back of the head. Trying not to let out a shout of pain, all Ryoma did was lower his head even more and continued to rub his temples. He squint his eyes closed, showing a more painful expression on his face but kept it more stoic.

'I didn't hit him that hard...' Seeing that his son was acting stranger than usual, the father lifted the boy's chin to look at him. With many attempts to get out of his father's grip, it was hopeless in Ryoma's condition.

"Practice didn't end early did it?" Nanjiroh noted, feeling the intensity of heat. Ryoma stood up but the slight dizziness overtook him and he was back sitting on the couch. He felt his forehead one more time and it was burning.

/Itai.../

"Tadaima!" Nanako walked over to where Nanjiroh was and saw Ryoma's condition.

"Ryoma! Are you okay?" Nanako dropped her bags, pushed the father out of the way, and kneeled down to feel his forehead. Ryoma shrugged her off.

"I knew something happened in the morning."

"It's nothing." Ryoma said, trying to clear his vision to look at her.

"I'll treat you right away." Nanako rushed over to the kitchen but stopped when she found a disturbing magazine with a page open.

"But I'm throwing this away first! I will think about mentioning this 'thing' to the wife too." Nanako held the magazine in her hands and went off to the kitchen.

"AH! NO! GIVE IT, IT'S MINE!" Nanjiroh stood up from where he was pushed and rushed over, but said one thing to his son.

"You, bed, now." Nanjiroh went back to confiscate the magazine from Nanako. Ryoma sighed as he took his glass of water and went upstairs, hearing the conversation of Nanako scolding his father. The last thing he heard was a trash bin closed shut and his father getting upset. Ryoma made a smirk.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

During the evening, Ryoma found out that his tempertature was at 103 degrees and he would not go to school the next day. Having arguements with his parents that he had to practice more, they overtook his reasons and he had to stay in bed. He had thoughts about escaping the window of his room, but risking himself falling down was not an option. Nanako treated him with some food and medicine and in the meantime, he rested. Being so bored in the room, he couldn't help but wonder how things would go tomorrow.

He thought back about what happened today- senpai-tachi were crowding around him when he fell and a certain girl was also with them. Hold it. Since when did he thought about the girl? The girl with braided pigtails and brown colored eyes. It seemed that she was concerned of him when he collasped at the tennis courts. He had trouble remembering the name, but he knew her since she was always around Horio and others. He eyed the night sky as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"All right." The homeroom teacher went inside the room with a black notebook. Today was a nice day outside, when the wind was gently blowing through the foliage and birds chirping happily while flying. Sakuno was sitting at her desk paying attention to her teacher. But with the corner of her eye, she eyed the empty desk where Ryoma sat.

'He's not here today...'

"Ryuzaki Sakuno? Sakuno!" The homeroom teacher called. Tomoka nudged her arm on the desk and Sakuno closed her thoughts.

"Ah! Here!" Sakuno called out. Her classmates stared at her when the homeroom teacher was calling her but with Tomoka's death glare, they quickly turned back to pay attention.

"Mou, Sakuno. Something wrong? What happened to Ryoma-sama yesterday?" Tomoka whispered. Sakuno looked away from her.

_Flashback_

_"You okay?" Momo asked the young tennis player as they changed courts. Ryoma only nodded and lowered the bill of the cap. But as he was walking, he reached his point. He closed his eyes and fell to the ground with a thud; his face planted at the court. The regulars eyed the young tennis player on the ground and their eyes widened with shock. _

_'RYOMA-KUN!' Sakuno thought as she opened the tennis gates and went over to him. _

_"Echizen!" Momo rushed over first since he was one playing him. He sat him up on the ground and shook his shoulder._

_"Wake up. Echizen!" Momo continued to try waking him up. The regulars dropped their rackets and went over to the court. _

_"What happened?" Fuji asked._

_"He just dropped dead."_

_"Ah! Ochibi!" _

_End Flashback_

'Looks like he won't be here...' Sakuno thought sadly. Tomoka sighed when Sakuno didn't answer her question.

"Now. I want to know who will be giving Echizen's assignment after school? His father called him in sick." The homeroom teacher announced to the whole class. Every girl in the room raised their hands high in the air, including Tomoka's. Some girls even rose up out of their seats. Boys didn't really bother except for Horio. Sakuno didn't bother to raise her hand. What was the point when no one really picked her to volunteer? Besides, she had a lot on her mind.

"Ah, Ryuzaki. How about you?" The sensei eyed Sakuno not paying attention.

"EH?! NANI?!" The girls screeched with horror. Tomoka twitched her brow and stared at her friend for an answer. Sakuno had a feeling that she was being looked at and she was surprised when everyone was really looking at her.

"Sumimasen. Nani?" She asked.

"Would you like to give Ryoma's assignment?" The sensei offered. Sakuno had a surprise look on her face.

'W-What should I say? If I say yes, I'll be trampled by other girls. But if I say no, then I won't know if Ryoma-kun's okay or not. Mou...'

"If you don't want to do it, then I'll hand it to-"

"Matte...I-I'll do it." Sakuno answered in a tiny voice, surprising everyone including herself. The homeroom teacher smiled as everything was settled. Sakuno crouched down from the desk and closed her eyes with worry.

'I hope Tomoka doesn't get mad...' Sakuno prayed deep inside her. She hid a blush as girls from the room glared at her. Tomoka glared back more and the girls turned back to the lesson a bit intimidated.

"Sakuno," Tomoka whispered. "You're so lucky!" Sakuno couldn't help but make another blush. Tomoka wasn't mad at her.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Give this to Ryoma okay? Do you know where he lives?" Sakuno remembered the place. She couldn't help but follow the boy around when they would sometimes walk home together. She grabbed the extra assignment and dashed out of the school, not getting pummeled by fan girls. She already notified her grandmother that she would not attend to watch the tennis club today, but to go straight home because she was busy. Her friend Tomoka wished to visit Ryoma-sama also, but with her brothers again, she ended up not going. Tomoka wanted Sakuno to promise that she would tell everything that happened in the house. Sakuno didn't really say anything, but only heard Tomoka's cries of Ryoma.

'Why did I agree on this?' Sakuno thought as her head was lowered down to the ground.

"Sakuno!" Sakuno looked up to see Momo on the tennis courts.

"Konichiwa, Momo-senpai." Sakuno greeted the upperclassman. They were apart because of the tennis gates.

"Echizen isn't here today?" He questioned as he swung a forehand with his racket. Sakuno shook her head no.

"He wasn't in homeroom. I guess he stayed at home." Momo sighed with relief.

"I didn't pick him up this morning anyway. If that brat was here today sick, then I would end up dragging him back home." Sakuno chuckled.

"H-He won't be happy if you did that." Sakuno replied. Momo made a smile and heard his captain calling out orders.

"Momoshiro! 20 laps around the court for not participating!" Tezuka commanded.

"WHAT?!" Momo shouted. Sakuno stepped away from the fence.

"I'll be going now to not cause trouble. Ja ne!"

"Ja ne!" Momo bid her farewell when the freshman left.

"30 laps or a pitcher of Inui's juice!" Inui gladly held a pitcher of red, oozing, bubbling liquid with an evil grin on his face.

"OKAY, OKAY!" Momo replied as he had blue vertical lines on the side and ran his punishment laps.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Following the same path she always took, Sakuno remembered that she had a piece of cake left in her bag. It had white vanilla frosting with a strawberry on top. The cake was vanilla flavored also with sweet cream in the middle inside a small bento box. She should try giving it to him as a treat. Her pastries never failed her; unless criticized by a good baker.

As she crossed the street she continued through the path and found Ryoma's house. It was pretty big and it had a temple with a huge bell. She opened the gate and knocked on the door a few times. She could hear faint footsteps coming in the front door and it was open.

"Can I help you?" Nanako asked.

"Does Echizen Ryoma live here?" Sakuno asked in a quiet voice. Nanako made a smile.

"Hai. You must be one of his classmates, ne? Come in, I'm Nanako, his cousin." Nanako moved out of the way so Sakuno could get in. Sakuno took off her shoes and just realized that she shouldn't be doing this. She just had to give the assignment and go. But she didn't want to disrespect anyone in the house.

"He's upstairs and his room is the second door to the left. Don't be in there too long. I don't want anyone else to get sick." Nanako winked. Sakuno nodded her head and watched as Nanako closed the door to the house.

"What's your name?"

"Ryuzaki Sakuno."

"Oh. I've heard of you. Your grandmother is the coach of the tennis club right?" Nanako questioned. Sakuno nodded and continued to the stairs. She touched the stair railings and made her way up. The hallway was pretty dark, but Sakuno managed to find the room and made a knock on the door.

"Come in." The boy inside the room replied. Sakuno made a gulp and rattled the door open.

"K-Konichiwa..." Sakuno closed the door, seeing Ryoma lying down on the bed. Ryoma was surprised to see someone else here besides his family so he sat up and rested his hands on his sheets. Sakuno slowly walked over to him and tried to find the words she wanted to say. All she could really do was stare at him, noting that he was wearing a white long sleeve shirt and sweats. He looked better than yesterday and she had a pretty good thought that he might be better in no time. She sat down on a navy chair next to the bed. Her heart was beating at a fast rate, not knowing what to do.

"...D-Daijoubu?" Sakuno stuttered.

Ryoma sighed, "Hai."

"That's good." An awkward silence followed through after that. Sakuno did nothing but only thought about being in Ryoma's room.

"Is there a reason you're here?" Ryoma looked at his sheets. Sakuno rummaged in her bag and took out some papers.

"This is the assignment for today." Sakuno held out the assignment to Ryoma. Did this girl really volunteer herself to come here? He didn't bother asking but just thanked her. Sakuno fiddled with her dark green skirt and remembered one thing.

'I hope this is good...'

"I made this. Take it." Sakuno took out the small bento box and Ryoma saw a small piece of cake.

"You made it?" Ryoma gazed at Sakuno. Sakuno hid a flustered shade of pink.

"You don't have to eat it now if you don't want to. I...uh...better be going now. Your c-cousin said that I shouldn't be up here too long." Sakuno stood up from the navy chair that creaked when she pushed it back.

"...Ryuzaki." Sakuno turned around, "How's the team?" Ryoma was a bit curious. Sakuno made a soft smile.

"They're...doing fine. They're worried about you, especially Momo-senpai." Sakuno opened the door.

"Domo." Sakuno stopped and turned back.

"Hm?"

"Domo arigatou, for the assignment." Ryoma replied. Sakuno waved goodbye, while closing the door with a soft click and went on home.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Ryoma, your temperature lowered a bit. If you do go back to school tomorrow, take it easy on tennis."

Nanako took the thermometer out of the young boy's mouth, making a faint popping noise. Ryoma just gazed blankly down at his sheets. He took a small wet towel to cool down his warm face by the desk. His mom already gave him the medicine he needed so he should be better in no time.

"Rest now, okay?" Nanako took the half eaten soup and went back downstairs. She eyed the tray and noticed that a small, tiny piece of cake was left and a bitten strawberry. She made a smile.

"Ryuzaki Sakuno..."

* * *

-**HaruCherry**


	3. Promise

Secret Exchange

Chapter 3: Promise

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_'I'm here...again?'_

_Echizen Ryoma looked around to see nothing but the dark tunnel. Everything was sealed shut and he could not find anything with light. In his hand he could feel that he was clutching a tennis racket and in the other hand he had a tennis ball. _

_"Serve the ball!"_

_Ryoma turned around to see no one there. _

_"Hurry! Come on!" _

_The shouts continued momentarily until it was dead silent. Ryoma bounced the ball a few times but when he bounced the ball the sixth time, the ball disappeared. Ryoma's eyes widened when his racket also disappeared out of his hands. He searched around to see what was happening, but found no clues._

_"You didn't serve the ball? Aw..."_

_At the last splitting second, light was in front of his eyes..._

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Ryoma. Ryoma." The boy woke up seeing his cousin Nanako with a smile on her face. She placed a hand on his forehead, realizing that his fever disappeared.

"You can go to school now. You have made a quick recovery so get ready." Nanako closed the door as she walked out. Ryoma felt his forehead and knew that he felt a lot better, but the dream he was having popped in his mind.

_"Serve the ball!"_

_"Hurry up and serve it!"_

Ryoma shook his thoughts away; everything was all right now. He was feeling better, he could play tennis, and he could attend school. Wait...that was a bad thing because he was always bored in the homeroom. Still, he dressed up and went downstairs seeing the American breakfast placed in front of him. He wasn't happy.

"Gomen. It'll be like this for a while." Nanako placed the milk on the table. Ryoma rubbed his eyes and chewed on the piece of bread.

"Young man..." His father sat across from the table, "do you need a ride?"

"I'm capable of walking." Ryoma muttered roughly.

"Ryoma, you were just-" Nanako tried to get in the conversation, telling Ryoma that he should get a ride. Ryoma shook his head no for several reasons while drinking his milk; the main one was that he didn't want to be seen with his oyaji. He would embarass him everywhere and he didn't want it to be school also. Nanako sweat dropped and cleared her throat.

"Exercise in the morning would be good for Ryoma. He was in bed for the past two days." Nanako tried to convince her own uncle. Nanjiroh put down the newspaper to eye both of them curiously. Ryoma just kept on eating as Nanako walked away and continued preparing the food.

"Fine. The next time you're sick and you go back to school, you're riding." Ryoma popped an angry vein on the side of his head. He stood up and walked out of the house with his stuff.

"Uncle!" Nanako said with a frustrated voice. Nanjiroh made a goofy grin and continued to read the newspaper.

'Got him.'

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Ryoma-kun!" Ryoma turned around and saw the girl that visited him yesterday. Sakuno took several breaths before she spoke. It seemed that she didn't have a ride with her grandmother today so she walked on her own. In Ryoma's mind, Momo must've already left on his bike to school.

"You're going to school now?" Ryoma nodded his head and continued on. Sakuno followed timidly behind him.

"Did you have trouble with the assignment?" She asked.

'Of course he didn't have any problems!' Sakuno thought with embarassment.

"Not really." He responded. Sakuno lowered her head and before she knew what to do, she bumped into Ryoma.

"Gomen." She apologized. Ryoma turned around to look at her.

"The cake you made..."

"What about it?" Sakuno tilted her head to the side as she held her school bag with a firm grip.

"It was good." Both of them continued on their way to school. Sakuno's eyes widened when she heard such a compliment. Several times she heard him say something about her pastries about tasting fantastic, but it was rare to say it in front of her. He usually said it around more people or he would say that he tasted better...

"Domo arigatou." Ryoma stopped again after hearing that tiny voice. He sighed and turned around to look at her. Gazing into his golden eyes, Sakuno noticed that there was a tint of sadness printed in his eyes.

"...What is it?" Sakuno managed to say. Ryoma turned around once again so that Sakuno could see his back side.

"Meet me at the rooftop during lunch."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"AH! LUCKY GIRL IS HERE! HA HA!" Tomoka wrapped an arm around Sakuno's left shoulder.

"Tomo-chan, not so loud." Sakuno said in a soft voice. Everyone was gazing at them bewildered, although girls from Ryoma-sama's Fan Club glared daggers at her.

"LUCKY! TELL ME EVERYTHING!" Tomoka jumped up and down with happiness. Sakuno was already seperated with Ryoma after Momoshiro grabbed him with a headlock. She made a choice to leave them alone. But being with Tomoka would be hard to conquer. She wanted to know everything!

"Betsu ni!"

"Aw, you're lying to me! L-Y-I-N-G! Tell me!!!" Tomoka whined loudly as fake tears were coming out of her eyes. Sakuno closed her eyes with a problem rising in front of her. She ended up walking away from the girl but Tomoka only cried louder across the hallways.

"MOU! COME BACK!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Momo-senpai! Hanashite!" Ryoma was still in Momoshiro's headlock.

"Hah, I guess you're feeling better." Momoshiro was satisfied of his kouhai and gladly let go. Ryoma was frustrated and fixed his messy hair.

"Demo, that was a quick recovery. Are you sure you're better?" Momoshiro eyed him closely.

"Genki desu. Inui-senpai knows how to make good recoveries when you're sick..." Ryoma trailed off his sentence and stared at the ground.

"Okay, if you're sure." Momoshiro heard the bell ring and it was time for classes to begin. Ryoma went to go to his homeroom, hence, more problems were coming at his face.

"RYOMA-SAMA, RYOMA-SAMA! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!" Tomoka was already at her seat.

"Hey! Echizen, welcome back." Horio crossed his arms.

"It was just one day..." Ryoma muttered.

"One day without you is boring! You scared the heck out of us when you fell!" Horio retorted.

"Sou desu ka?" Ryoma took his seat like nothing was happening. Horio popped a vein and wanted to pounce on the arrogant guy, but his friends held him back.

Ryoma took his seat and and took out the assignments from yesterday. He did the assignments in less than five minutes; it was basic Japanese-English to him. The homeroom teacher was surprised that Ryoma got all the answers correct, even when he was absent. Many murmurs were coming around the room, but the first year didn't really care as he gazed at the window to see the blue sky. Not knowing his surroundings, Sakuno was staring at him with a worried gaze.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The bell rang and it was time for lunch. Everyone scattered or ran out of their homerooms to get something to eat. Apparently, Sakuno walked slower than usual. Earlier during a break, she told Tomoka that she wouldn't attend lunch with her because she had to visit her grandmother's office for something. Tomoka wanted to come along, but Sakuno thought it would be a bother and that it was a private conversation. Tomoka had no choice but to leave her friend alone and went off to lunch, thus Sakuno tricked her friend and was finally alone in the hallways. She made her way to the staircase to where the rooftop would be.

'Those eyes...' Sakuno remembered those eyes full of sadness. What could possibly be wrong with him? She held a bento box neatly in a pink cloth bag. With a small squeak from the door she opened to see the rooftop- fairly small with probably a storage case for various school equipment. A gate covered the whole area as she made her way to a metal bench. She sat down and placed her bento next to her. She looked around, seeing that Ryoma was not here yet. Ryoma would always come up here first thing. What could be keeping him?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Finally! After sneaking away from Horio and annoying upperclassmen, Ryoma had his alone time. His freshmen friends weren't a bother but the regulars couldn't help but wonder if he was really all right. Eiji insisted that he shouldn't be left alone and Momo just wanted him to be checked out at the nurse's office. He ended up pushing him there but with Ryoma's good reflexes, he didn't go inside. For pete's sake, he was okay!...at least he thought he was.

Deep inside he wasn't because of those dreams that were clouding his mind and he just wanted to get away from them. But in order for those dreams to vanish, he had to tell it to someone. He trusted his senpai-tachi very much, but they wouldn't pay attention to the tournaments coming their way- especially Oishi. Ryoma had to be careful not to show his bothered side during practice. His buchou always warned everyone that if no one was focused during serious tournaments, then there was no possible chance they could win. Ryoma stopped in the middle of the hallway, carrying a can of grape-flavored Ponta, and saw the staircase to the rooftop. He hoped that he was doing a right thing.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

'10 minutes...' Sakuno looked at the clock by the wall as she opened up her bento box. Different types of sushi she made were neatly placed in one side, while the other had rice and shrimp. She broke her chopsticks and began to eat her bento. Somehow while she was eating, a shadow covered her from the bright sun and she looked up.

"Ryoma-kun..."

"You're here early. How long?" He sat down at the metal bench next to her. Sakuno stared at her bento box with no expression.

"Not that long..." She answered. Ryoma took a sip of his Ponta and put it on the ground. Silence took place between the two of them. Sakuno felt like she lost her appetite and started to close her bento box. Because of her appetite change, she wondered if Ryoma ate lunch yet.

"Do you want one?" Sakuno turn to the dark-emerald haired boy, who ironically was looking at the delicious bento next to him. She offered some food to him when he was done and Sakuno closed the bento box completely. Earlier she had doubts on her mind; she knew she should've said something like she was too busy to meet at the rooftop, but something inside her told her that she shouldn't avoid this meeting. She gripped her skirt nervously and let Ryoma take his time. Her shy nature was fighting with her to even utter a word.

"Dreams..." Sakuno heard Ryoma speak one word. He heaved a sigh and turned to look at her.

"...Can you keep this to yourself?" Hearing those sudden words, Sakuno paid attention more to him. She made a decision to keep a secret of what he wanted to say; yet she asked one thing,

"Why me?"

Ryoma lowered his head and spoke up, "...You're someone that _can_ keep secrets." Sakuno made a crimson blush across her cheeks.

"H-Hontou ni?" She stumbled with her words she just spoke.

"I'll repay you with something if you want. It seems fair." Ryoma mumbled. Sakuno thought about it for a few minutes. She had to think of something that wouldn't be such a bother to him or her.

"Kedo...are you sure you want to tell it to me? Won't it be reasonable to tell your parents or senpai-tachi?"

"Do you have an answer yet?" Ryoma picked up his Ponta and took a sip, avoiding her questioning. Sakuno sighed and found something right for the two of them.

"Give me more tennis lessons." Ryoma stared at her when she said it, he almost choked on his Ponta.

"Private lessons, kudasai!" Sakuno pleaded. Ryoma looked at her eyes- eyes firing up. He made a smirk. It reminded him of his own eyes during his tennis tournament in America.

"Doesn't your obaa-san teach tennis to you, Ryuzaki?" He wondered. Sakuno averted his gaze.

"Obaa-chan does...but she's always so busy she doesn't have time to teach me much. I think this is the most important thing that you could repay me with, Ryoma-kun. I'll work hard. Watching other tennis players are good, but I want to experience more than that." Sakuno mumbled as she closed her eyes with hope.

Ryoma thought about it. Since when did her grandmother have no time to teach her some tennis? He knew the girl's skills; they lack a lot including the long hair and so-called wobbly hips. knowing how much this girl was determined to play tennis, he lifted his hand for a shake.

"Nani?" Sakuno was a bit puzzled.

"I'll tell you what I need out of my chest and I'll repay you with lessons." He simply replied. Sakuno's hand trembled while reaching to his. Once she got a good grip of his hand, she completely blushed a tomato red. She bit her lip and slowly shook it, she could've sworn her face was raging like a volcano.

"H-Hai!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"YATTA! OCHIBI'S BACK!" Eiji dashed out of the tennis courts to see Ryoma with his red tennis racket. Afternoon practice started and everyone changed into their uniforms.

"Ryoma-sama's playing! Wheeee!" Tomoka cheered. Sakuno just lowered her head and thought about what happened at the rooftop. She finally realized that Ryoma didn't say anything about the dream, nor the tennis lessons she would attend. After practice, she should talk to him about it during the walk home.

"You doing okay?" Fuji asked with a smile, while Oishi had a thoughtful face. Ryoma nodded and was pulled away from Eiji.

"Nya! You scared us! Don't do that again!" Eiji puffed his cheeks.

"Do what again?" Ryoma walked away from the two of them. Eiji huffed a sigh.

"He didn't need to be like that! He knew what I meant!" Eiji replied with a muffle. Fuji chuckled softly and both of them trailed behind Ryoma to see Tezuka yelling out an order. Twenty laps around the court and each lap must be at least a under a minute.

"The juice is waiting..." Inui poured in some of the liquid in cups. Everyone looked at it with disgust; they could not afford to fail this task.

"Ready...GO!" Everyone started running with a quick pace; regulars on the front, non-regulars in the middle, and freshmen on the back. Too bad for the freshmen during the first five laps- their juice was waiting for them when they collapsed and didn't make the time limit. They could've sworn that the juice made popping noises and small puffs of steam. Inui said that it was his finest creation and that he should mix more concoctions later on. With one big gulp, they all drank and screamed with disgust. Freshmen were on the ground in an instant.

Sooner or later during the next ten laps others started to collapse with the running and juice, except for the regulars who were still running at a good rate. Some slowed down, but with Ryoma's quick thinking, he swiped a tennis racket near the court walls and gave it to Kawamura-senpai. Takashi's eyes widened with the touch of the racket, eyes that reached to the point of firing up. He felt like a whole new person other than his quiet self...

"YEAH! BURNING! LET'S GO!!!" Takashi swift through the court with astounding speed, leaving a trail of dust. Ryoma just passed through his senpais easily with a smirk on his face. He didn't have much difficulty than before, so it was okay for him to run.

"HEY! NO FAIR!" The others behind Ryoma and Takashi sped a little bit faster.

"Last lap. The ones who are last will drink the giant pitcher of the special energy juice!" Inui laughed like an evil scientist in a spooky lab. Everyone looked at the data collector with frightened eyes. Regulars did their last lap and it was a tie.

"All of you made it in 55 seconds. Not bad." Everyone panted with super exhaustion. None of the regulars didn't get to drink the dreaded juice. Fuji insisted to drink at least one cup, but everyone just pushed him away from the juice.

Matches started like a regular routine. Tennis members train the regulars while freshmen tend to watch or continue to work. Tomoka did most of her encouragement cheers to keep the team up, while Sakuno was secretely cheering for all of them. Regulars would work on their special smashes and strategic moves. Overall, it was a usual day...

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Ne, Sakuno! You ready to go home now?" Tomoka wondered as the tennis club was done for today. Freshmen carried crates of tennis balls and put them back in the equipment room. Without receiving an answer Tomoka looked behind seeing that Sakuno was looking at the sky.

"Sakuno, SAKUNO!" Tomoka practically yelled at her friend's ear, causing the timid girl to fall over.

"Tomo-chan?!" Sakuno spoke in a loud voice, losing her focus on the sky.

"I said, are you ready to go?" Tomoka asked.

"Tomo-chan...you can go. I have to meet my grandmother at her office. I might go home late." Tomoka made a pout but turned around.

"You just did that. But...if you're sure, Sakuno-chan. Ja ne." Tomoka walked away from the school with her hand waving good-bye. Horio, Kachiro, and Katsu were trailing behind her.

"Ja ne." Sakuno responded back. She felt really guilty leaving her friend in the dust. She just wanted to receive an answer from Ryoma.

"Senpai, I have to go home."

"Nonsense! It's still early for you to go!" Sakuno overheard Ryoma and Momoshiro talking to each other when they were ready to go. Ryoma argued that he was busy with something, yet Momoshiro kept pushing him back to do something together. A few minutes passed and with much troubled bickering, Ryoma won the battle and was sent off, leaving Momo alone.

'Great! No one's paying for burgers then!' Momoshiro let out a frown.

"Momo! You feel like going somewhere?" Somehow that frown turned upside down when Eiji wanted to go somewhere.

'Hah! He's paying!'

"Of course, let's go!" Momo literally dragged Eiji and they were off on their journey to fast food. When Ryoma was solitary around his surroundings, Sakuno walked over to him with silence. Both of them didn't know what to say at first. All they did was clutched their belongings or in Ryoma's case, looked blankly at the rustling foliage of the trees.

"Eh..." Sakuno was the first to broke the silence,

"the deal isn't sealed yet..." Ryoma fully agreed with her. So for him, it was time to say something. He often didn't like showing this side of himself to people. For some reason, he wished that Ryuzaki would keep his hidden thoughts to her and her only.

* * *

**-HaruCherry**


	4. Giving our Thoughts

A/N: Hello. School started for me and because of that, I'll probably be very busy. I'll try my best to update as soon as possible. Sorry if this took so long! Proceed to read.

* * *

Secret Exchange

Chapter 4: Giving our Thoughts

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Dreams?"

It puzzled Sakuno because Ryoma barely spoke about dreams. Heck, in her opinion, she thought he didn't say anything at all! She didn't understand as to why Ryoma spoke to her. The only question in her mind was, why her? Why did Ryoma chose to spoke about his personal thoughts when she was a stranger to him? She tried talking more to him, but that only caused Ryoma to call her annoying and loud. At this point, hearing Ryoma talking to her just made Sakuno feel a lot more...warmer.

"What are the dreams about?" Ryoma closed his eyes, showing a bit of discomfort to tell. Sakuno made a faint frown, but dared not to show it. If Ryoma wanted to talk to her, fine, but she shouldn't pressure him if he wanted to do this. In fact, why did he wanted to do this? She decided not to disrupt the boy and waited for a response.

"Tennis."

"Tennis?" It would've been an obvious thing even for the prince.

"The dreams are about me playing...however..." He trailed off as he stopped at a crosswalk with Sakuno. The only sound they could hear were the voices of pedestrians walking on the pavement sidewalk and car tires screeching to a halt when the red light flashed.

"The bad side of tennis..." When the crosswalk turned green, Ryoma walked to the other side.

"Hm?" Realizing that she was just standing there, she ran to catch up to the boy.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Once the street was safe to cross, Ryoma and Sakuno made up to a cliff where their homes would be. Although they have more time in their hands, they stopped by at the near riverbank below a huge bridge. Lush of trees and bushes were around them and little animals scurried to their homes. It was a private place after all; no one really goes here, except for Kaidoh who runs around doing his outside training. The current of the riverbank was pretty peaceful and calm. Nothing was disturbing them at this very moment.

Ryoma continued, golden eyes gazing at his reflection in the river, "People have fears. Standing at the court it's kind of different. The tension, people counting on me to win, people that expect me to win...you have a phobia for losing and you let people down because of it. I've lost with buchou or other people...

When people look at me they murmur rumors: me being like my dad; me being like him. Reflexes, speed, skills. I don't want to be like him. The dreams I'm having right now are failing at tennis, people mocking me for not doing well. They expect better. Just once you want to beat someone that you haven't beaten before. But when I'm at the court and a new opponent is at the other side, fear clouds around me. It doesn't show in my face, nor does it show in my playing style. In my mind, the fear can go everwhere. I try to block my fear, trying not to tumble or fall if the fear comes out. If I do show it, it's possible that the fall or tumble can become a reality."

'He has fears? Fears of the court?' Sakuno eyed him with a worried glance. She never expected Ryoma to say so many words at one time. The feelings that he was distrubuting to her right now hit her heart like cupid's arrow. What was bugging her more was that Ryoma's feelings were to be kept inside her and never to be told. She eyed all the senpai-tachi from the tennis club and- sure they expected fear, but Ryoma was different. He hid his fear in the court, but was it bothering him inside when he played?

"You have your own style, ne? You beat various of people, Ryoma-kun." Sakuno tried to cheer him up.

Ryoma thought about something to respond to that, "But is it enough?" Sakuno had a puzzled look on her face, staring at the shining glimmer of the bank.

"Is it enough that it could get me to be the best of my ability?" Sakuno's head lifted and she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had never heard him say those kind of words to anyone, not even once!

"Tennis is your passion. You love tennis...don't you?"

"You should know the answer." Ryoma muttered. Sakuno made a light laugh to herself.

"You're known to have amazing abilities in the court. You show more of yourself in the court when you play."

'It's like when you are playing...it looks like you are performing a dance...' Sakuno kept that thought to herself. "Ryoma-kun, all you need to do is do your best..."

Silence. A soft breeze blew Sakuno's long braids in a gentle manner, yet she was waiting for an answer from him. His answer was lowering his head, took a pebble out of the ground, and threw it in the bank, making a light _plop _sound when it hits the water. She bit her lip. The pebble hit both of the their reflections, splashing away like a zooming tennis ball if it hits the net. She didn't expect a deep conversation from him; she expected a small talk.

_'Do you promise to keep this to yourself?'_

When Ryoma said something, he really meant it. Replaying those words in her head, she must abide to whatever came first; and that was helping Ryoma with his dream problems. So far, she thought she was doing a lame job at it.

It made herself feel useless.

"I know it's not much advice...but that's the reason why I want to play tennis too..." Sakuno whimpered. Hearing that sudden sound, Ryoma lifted his head to see Sakuno in such a sad state. He didn't do anything wrong to upset her. He thought he upset himself for telling her this kind of information.'

"Che..." Ignoring that retort, Sakuno continued,

"I want to know...what it's like to play in an actual match. I've only done practice matches with Tomo-chan, but that's it. I'm not that athletic and I know that my skills are lacking energy..." A tear streaked down to her soft cheek, "For some reason, I just want to learn more..."

The teen made a frown and her eyes just turned away. Sakuno was going to beat herself up for crying in front of him. She didn't want emotions to get in the way but her tears continued to drop to the hard, concrete floor.

"If you like to do something that is important to you...you should love it and continue doing it!" Sakuno stared up at the mixed colored sunset in front of the two of them. Her eyes showed so much passion and hope to learn the sport.

Feeling a soft touch on Sakuno's shoulder, she gazed at Ryoma with teary eyes.

Ryoma lowered his head, "The advice has been well thought out." Sakuno's eyes widened with total surprise. He was phrasing her because of advice?

"The fear can either be excitement or the real thing. To be honest, you don't what's going to happen at the court. That's the mystery of tennis..." Ryoma motioned Sakuno to follow him and she ambled over. When they took a different path, Sakuno was wondering where he was taking her. This was the same path to her house.

"I'm taking you home..." Ryoma answered. It seemed that her theory was right.

"N-Nani?"

"Do you trust yourself on the way home?" Ryoma scoffed.

"Well maybe!" Sakuno argued.

"Anyway," Ryoma tried to change the subject, "your tennis lessons with me are every Saturday and Sunday in the morning until afternoon. I'll make it longer if I feel like it. As for weekdays, we're busy, don't you think?"

"Huh?"

'Did he just say...he will...teach me?'

"I'll be teaching you."

'So he is...' Happiness crept in her smile. She never thought Ryoma agreed to do it. Well, it was a favor after all.

"Seigaku Gates at seven. Tomorrow's Saturday." Ryoma finally reached her house and stopped at the curb. Sakuno walked over to the front door of her house. Not realizing what she was doing, she turned around shyly in front of the boy and bowed, clutching the school bag slung to her shoulder.

"I'm willing to listen and learn, Ryoma-kun. Domo arigatou gozaimasu!" Sakuno said with much honor. Ryoma blinked a couple of times and made a small grimace.

"Jaa." Ryoma turned back to the path and Sakuno waved good-bye.

"Sakuno, where have you been?" Sumire walked out of the kitchen as Sakuno went inside the house.

"...Just around the school." She answered as she went upstairs to her room.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Tadaima..." Ryoma stepped inside the house and took off his shoes. He placed his bag on the ground and walked over to the kitchen.

"Ryoma, you're back. You're later than usual." Nanako noted as the boy took his seat in the dining table. The boy thumped his head on the table- hard. He didn't know what he just did today. He actually showed another side of him to someone. His family would know everything about him so it didn't matter which side he showed, but someone else? The thump rattled his head with so much confusion. Nanako and Rinko, his mother with her light brown hair tied up in a bun, gazed at him when they heard the sound.

"...Was school well?" Rinko questioned. Ryoma lifted his head slowly, eyes dull as a rock.

"Ee..."

"Well... food should cheer you up." Nanako made a smile as she placed a bowl of rice and fish in front of him. Ryoma sat up and took his chopsticks to eat. He was hungry after all the hard work he was doing and he always thought that he deserved a break. He just didn't know when to take that break. Once he was done, he was about to go to his room when his father blocked the entry way. He frowned with displeasure.

"Nani yo?" Ryoma just wanted to go inside his room.

"Tennis?" His father threw a tennis ball up and down as it landed on his palm. Ryoma's eyes were dull as he just agreed to play him, for a while at least. He got his racket and went outside at the backyard, or really tennis court, with his father. Each of them got in an opposite side as Nanjiroh would make the first serve.

"Just because you were ill the other day, I won't go easy on you."

"Serve it. That was old news...oyaji." Ryoma made a position to return the ball.

"You'll regret that." Nanjiroh served the ball with much force.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Tomo-chan, on Monday would you like to go to the ice cream parlor after school? My treat." Sakuno was on the phone with Tomoka in her room. She laid down on a soft light pink pillow, wearing a yellow nightgown with a loose magenta ribbon in the middle.

"Monday? Okay yeah, that's great! But why not tomorrow?" Tomoka suggested. Sakuno didn't respond for a few seconds.

"Moshi moshi? Sakuno?" Tomoka waited for an answer.

"Tomorrow I'm a little busy. But monday, please?" Sakuno wanted to spend time with Tomoka since she always ditched her out of the blue. On the other side of the phone, Tomoka narrowed her eyes a little and made a curious look.

"Ne, busy with what?" Tomoka asked. Sakuno made a small gulp and thought about another excuse.

"Uh...getting more tennis equipment with Obaa-chan." That was the only excuse she could think of at the time.

"But didn't I help you with that just last week? We did it together remember? The equipment is already put in the clubhouse." Tomoka huffed a sigh, "What's the real reason?!"

"That is the real reason, Tomo-chan! Believe me!"

"Nuh-uh!" Tomoka said with much frustration. "You've been more distant lately, and I hope that the ice cream parlor meeting will reveal answers. If you want to say something, then say it of you want. I won't be angry at you." She softened up her voice a little, "I just want to know what's up, Sakuno."

'Tomo-chan...' Now the auburn-hair girl was feeling a little guilty.

"It's not really important though and it isn't troubling me. But ice cream sounds good ne? With my best friend that is." Sakuno tried to lighten up the mood. Tomoka wanted to say more but her mother was calling her downstairs.

"Okay. If you're sure. Monday then?"

"Hai."

"All right. Ja ne! I have to do something with my mom." Tomoka told her.

"Ah, bye."

"Bye!" Sakuno hung up the phone with a soft click and placed it on the desk. She sighed as she laid in a more comfortable position on the side of her bed and placed her covers over her slim body. A small lamp was on so she could see what time it was.

'Half past nine...' The girl already took off her braids, leaving her long auburn hair to flow on the pillow.

'Ryoma-kun...'

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After the match and a relaxing bath with special bath salts, Ryoma went back to his room fully changed into more comfortable wear. He sat down on the bed with the Himalayan cat on his lap. Karupin purred gently as the light colored fur touched the master's hand. Ryoma carried Karupin with his arms as he made his way to the window. He wanted to close his mind a little and just stare at the beautiful night. The moon was shining tonight and stars rose up that it looked more like shooting stars.

He remembered the match with his father today. In a way, he would always think that it was just a practice match, but he always treated it like a real match. No one really won, yet Ryoma hoped that someday he would beat him; he promised himself that for the longest time. He didn't bother to share this determined information to Ryuzaki, since it wasn't important to tell. He shared a little about his father...but hoped that it wouldn't give the girl ideas to do something about it. Karupin meowed for Ryoma's attention and he stared down at his cat.

"I'll be going to sleep now, okay?" Ryoma put down the cat and closed the blinds of his window. He rested himself in bed as Karupin jumped in with him. He covered himself with his light blue sheets and started to go in a deep slumber.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_"Did you hear? His skills are nothing..."_

_"Hontou ni?"_

_"Oi! Hit the ball!"_

Ryoma groaned in his sleep. Karupin's ears twitched slightly but woke up to see Ryoma gripping his fist.

_The prodigy of America returned a ball to his opponent, yet he couldn't see anything but the lime green tennis ball coming at him. He hit it once again and the opponent made a smash right in front of him._

_"Game and set to __**UNKNOWN**__. 6 games to 4!"_

_"If there was no tennis in the world, what would he do?""_

_"This is the tennis professional's son?"_

_"Don't get cocky like him..."_

_"R-Ryoma-kun..."_

_OOOOOOOOOO_

Ryoma's golden eyes snapped open and sat up with a rush. It was already six-thirty in the morning as he peered in his clock. He laid back down on his bed to stare nothing but the ceiling. Karupin licked his face to see if he was okay. Snapping out of it, Ryoma trembled and pet Karupin with ease.

_'Ryoma-kun...'_

It wasn't a complaint, nor a request in the dream. He couldn't really hear the voice that said his name; it was too quiet and everyone was loud and obnoxious. Or was he just hearing things? Things were better off unexplained as he started to get ready to teach tennis.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"NOT AGAIN!" Sakuno rushed back and forth across her room. She put her tennis racket, a couple of balls, sweatbands; anything to prepare her for today. She quickly put on a white skirt and a comfortable tennis shirt she would wear to practice. Whenever she was up really late like say for example, midnight for thinking non-stop about what would happen the next day, she woke up seven-twenty in the morning- three words: 20 minutes late. She forgot to set her alarm clock and she was rushing through everything. Sakuno got everything ready and dashed downstairs. Sumire was drinking a nice cup of coffee when she heard the stomps coming down.

"What are you doing?" Her grandmother screeched. It was _too _early in the morning for so much noise. The last time Sakuno was late for something important, neighbors repeatedly complained and Sumire had to deal with it. Sumire was in a grumpy mood and didn't want the day to start off with chaos.

"GOMENASAI! I'M LATE!" Sakuno put on her tennis shoes and came in the kitchen to see her grandmother sitting down on the dining room table.

"Late for what?"

"Somewhere important!" Without looking, Sakuno grabbed a piece of hot toast from the toaster and went out the door. Sumire's eyes widened as she eyed the toaster.

"HOY! THAT WAS MY TOAST!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"LET GO!"

Nanjiroh got his son in a headlock and was laughing in such a goofy way. It turned out that Ryoma was trying to sneak out of the house without his parents' permission, but the father decided to wake up early today. 'Why today', was rattling in Ryoma's head.

Nanjiroh gasped with surprise, "Nani yo? Is it a date? Ah! So early and young in the morning! Amai desu..."

Feeling exteremely annoyed, Ryoma stomped on his father's foot and thank kami-sama that he was wearing shoes. Nanjiroh bit his lip and screeched with pain as his bare foot was throbbing uncontrollably. After getting out of his father's grip, he made a swift dash out of the house, taking his gear and went off to the school gates. Nanako woke up rubbing her eyes as she heard all the noise.

"Uncle? What happened?" Nanako stared with shock to see her uncle lying down on the tatami floor, wincing with pain and small tears out of his eyes.

"Ask the brat!" Nanjiroh shouted. Nanako saw the door wide open and couldn't help but think about where her cousin left to.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sakuno took deep breaths and stood at the gates of Seigaku. The light blue sky was pretty today as white puffy clouds drifted through the breeze. The sun brightened up the day as she gazed around to see no Ryoma and wondered if time was repeating itself. She nibbled on the toast of bread a bit and waited.

_Minutes Later..._

"Did...did Ryoma forget?" Sakuno waited for another couple of minutes, not seeing the boy yet. It was already half an hour and she thought that she would be later than Ryoma. She groaned with so much displeasure. If Ryoma really didn't want to come, he should've said so and Sakuno would be doing something else. But she knew that he already sealed the deal and he should be returning the favor like a gentleman.

"Gomen." Sakuno saw Ryoma walking up to her with his gear.

"Oh...ohayo..."

"Some disruption..." Sakuno finished up her toast and both of them were going to their destination. Sakuno was just following Ryoma, knowing that he might take her at an obvious local tennis court. As they passed every local tennis court to her surprise, she let the question slip out of her mouth nervously.

"We're not going to practice h-here?"

No response.

"You said private, right?" Ryoma responded. Sakuno finally remembered that she did wanted private lessons.

"Yeah."

"Then I'm taking you to a different area."

After hearing those words, Sakuno wondered how different this place could be. She might know the place; she lived around these parts in Japan ever since she was born! Ryoma always did surprise her in the courts, so there shouldn't be any difference...

After passing busy streets and impatient waiting at the crosswalks, Sakuno didn't know where Ryoma was taking her. The streets were very unfamiliar to her as she read the posts. Passing through a small park, Sakuno remembered tennis courts nearby this area. Ryoma was taking her even farther than that! It was already 9 AM for even going to the site he wanted.

"It's not far now..." Sakuno jerked her head up when Ryoma spoke. During the journey, that was the only thing that they said between the two of them. Sakuno wanted to strike up a conversation, yet she was too quiet to say anything. Her main focus was to get the day over with Ryoma and it was out of her hands.

"We're here." Sakuno and Ryoma stood in front of an alleyway; trash everywhere on the dirty floor and bugs crawling disgustingly. Sakuno had a question mark on her head.

"We are?"

"Hn." Ryoma gripped his bag and went through the dark alley. Sakuno had no choice but to follow him with doubts. Why a dark alleyway? Feeling strange wet puddles beneath her shoes when they made unusual sounds, the girl and boy continued to go straight toward the end of the alley. She stopped when Ryoma was feeling the wooden fence that reached the end.

"Here it is..." Ryoma pushed back a certain part of the fence and opened it to reveal light. Sakuno closed her eyes when the brightness blinded her, but opened her eyes wide to see something so phenomenal.

Right in front her eyes was a beautiful scenery of a clean tennis court. The tennis net had no sign of holes connecting to two tennis poles. On the right side of the court, there were plenty of tennis ball machines, each of them neatly seperated and spaced out. Many plants and flowers were gleaming with pure beauty and a fountain that contained fresh water to clean up or take a drink on the left side. A metal fence surrounded the court area and straight at the back there was a dark green wall to practice rallying the ball. Sakuno was too speechless to say anything. Talk about private! Outside of the fence was a deserted basketball court and wrappers of candy or other trash on the dirt.

"H-How did you find this place?" She managed to ask as she continued to stare. Ryoma walked over to the court and felt the strong net between the small poles.

"Roaming around when I dropped my tennis ball. The ball hit the fence and it opened by itself..."

"Does anyone own this place?" Sakuno dropped her bag and unzipped it to revealed her racket.

"Deserted." Ryoma suspected no clues whatsoever around the court, so it was safe to play around here. It was kind of awkward leaving such a top conditioned court in the middle of no where. This was a good court though. Nobody he knew didn't know about this court. If his senpai-tachi see him teaching the girl nearby the school or around town, teasing would happen everyday that would annoy him forever.

'Ugh...don't think about that now...' He needed to do the deal for Ryuzaki, that was his main purpose right now. He took off his crimson colored jacket, revealing his red and white tennis shirt and tossed the ball to Sakuno.

"Ready?"

* * *

**-HaruCherry**


	5. Lessons to Doubts

Secret Exchange

Chapter 5: Lessons to Doubts

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After a few minutes, Sakuno was facing the dark green wall in front of her. She held the ball nervously, trying to keep a good impression when the boy was watching her. She bounced the ball and hit it with her racket only to have the ball come back and passed her out of sight.

"You hit the ball too roughly." Sakuno turned around and saw Ryoma caught the ball with one hand. It seemed that it went farther to the net pole he was sitting on.

"Try a simple forehand and keep it going; hit the ball twenty times. If you miss, you start over. Remember to bend your knees." Ryoma commanded with a firm voice. He then tossed the ball back to Sakuno and she caught it with an uneasy grip.

Echizen coaching her was very nerve-racking, but Sakuno tried her best to persevere. The bright yellow sun beamed down on her and she rubbed her eyes to have better vision. She once again dropped the ball down with force and hit the ball with her racket. The ball swiftly hit the wall and bounced back easily, making Sakuno hit it a few times before she messed up. She bit her lip trying to concentrate and continuing the process. So far this was her tenth time trying to rally the ball twenty times. She did progress a couple of times when she hit the ball back and forth eleven or twelve times. It wasn't that much, but she made mental goals until she gets to twenty.

'Fifteen...sixteen...seventeen...' She was getting closer and with one hit she made it up to nineteen, only to clumsily lose her footing and fell down. The ball hit the wall and was coming at Sakuno with full speed. Sakuno, being afraid that the ball might hit her, blocked the ball with her racket and Ryoma looked up to see where it would go.

'Twenty...' The ball hit the wall and was sent back to Sakuno by her side. Ryoma made his trademark smirk and walked over to pick up the ball. Once Sakuno realized she was safe, she opened her brown eyes while holding the racket with a firm grip. The other hand clutched the racket strings when she slowly went back on her feet. Did she really make her last hit? It wasn't accurate enough for Ryoma's pleasures; she fell down when she hit the ball.

"You all right?" He asked in a monotone voice as he threw the tennis ball up and down in his palm.

Sakuno stuck out her tongue playfully, "Heh, I was lucky wasn't I?" Hearing no response, she glanced at him as he turned around to the wall.

"Mada mada dane..." Ryoma bounced the ball to the ground and properly did the same practice run that Sakuno attempted. Sakuno could only watch with awe as he hit the ball with such speed and flexibility. She wondered if she would reach that level of tennis with Ryoma's coaching. Could it be possible? After all, coaching her would take a _really _long time for Ryoma. After twenty hits, the tenis player grabbed the ball and walked over to the fountain to get a drink. Was Ryoma trying to show off to her? Sakuno wasn't real pleased, but it was true as to what the boy said. She had a long way to go.

"Ryoma-kun?"

Ryoma turned off the faucet after taking a drink, the refreshing water rushing down his throat. "C-can I do it again?"

"Hn. More basics. I don't mind." He went back to sitting on the net pole.

"Think fast." With swift accuracy, he threw the tennis ball on the wall and Sakuno had to return it back a few times. With complete concentration, the ball made a hit and Sakuno returned it smoothly than before.

"Grip." He called out. Sakuno hit the ball again and quickly looked at her grip. It was a little bit higher than before and she remembered the last time Ryoma helped with Tomoka. Memories flooded through her mind little by little, Tomoka's grip was very high and lowering her grip to obey Ryoma's wishes, the result was different. Tomoka easily hit the ball accurately and had better control.

"Right." Sakuno lowered her grip of the racket and tried hitting the ball right away. The result was correct- it was a lot easier that she expected. Finally having a great momentum for a couple of minutes, Sakuno was able to hit the ball twenty times. Of course she made a couple of slip ups, knowing that she was just a beginner.

"How was that?" She panted with exhaustion as the sun got hotter throughout the time in the private court. Ryoma shrugged his shoulders and stood up. He walked over to her with a helping hand.

"Che, rookie." He muttered. Sakuno sighed softly. It was quite obvious for Ryoma to say that. It was the first day of her lessons so it didn't matter.

"However, not bad." Sakuno let those words ring through her ears and out. She made a soft smile for his words, and surprised that it was coming out from him. Was Ryoma trying to be nice to her? This was very unlikely of him...unless...

"D-Did you have a dream, Ryoma-kun?" She timidly asked. Ryoma gazed at her with his feline eyes, but he averted her worried gaze by turning his head. Sakuno just let those words slip out of her mouth and never thought of Ryoma's reactions first. It just came out, yet she wanted more information of him if he wanted to speak.

"Che." Ryoma put his red racket on the court floor and sat on a nearby bench. Following his suit, Sakuno made her way to her bag to get out a bento box, make that two if Ryoma didn't have anything to eat. She sat down with him, trying to give him a little bit of space and gave him the bento. It was around the afternoon after the first practice. Sakuno placed two pairs of chopsticks between the two and stayed silent. She looked over to him, only to see him gazing down at his lunch she offered. Finally hearing her stomach growl a little, she made a move to get the chopsticks. Instead of feeling the wooden untensils, she felt something soft. Something that she felt before one time...and on top of her head was the roof...

The roof? The last time she felt something soft was when she was shaking Ryoma's hand, which she was courageous enough to do. Then her mind opened up a little wider...

'Wait...Ryoma's-!'

Desperately trying not to look, Sakuno gave in and peeked at what she just touched. Her own hand was touching Ryoma's pale right hand, hence, wanting to get the same chopsticks as she did. Did it matter what type of chopsticks the two of them wanted? Apparently, they wanted the same exact chopsticks. Sakuno swiftly swiped her hand out of Ryoma's grasp and waited for him to get the chopsticks. She looked down and examined her athletic shoes, turning much redder besides her training.

"Sorry..." She whispered on her own. Looking slightly dense, Ryoma took the chopsticks and snapped them in half, forgetting the whole ordeal. Sakuno lifted her head up and went over to get the leftover chopsticks, only to be stopped by Ryoma's hand that went on top of hers.

"R-Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno waited for a response.

Nothing. His hand was still touching hers.

"You didn't tell anyone?" His voice was barely audible, yet Sakuno was close enough to hear. Sakuno nodded her head, giving Ryoma a simple answer. His hand parted from hers and started to use the utensils.

"Aa." He began to eat at a slow pace, other than his regular swift pace, when he was really hungry. Sakuno snapped the remaining chopsticks and began to eat her own.

"There's a reason why I'm having tennis training with you." Sakuno mumbled as she bit more of her lunch. Ryoma took a sip of his water bottle and placed the bottle on the floor. The sounds of the water fountain trickled with pure serenity-at that moment Ryoma felt like he was at peace. Nothing bothering him, nothing that could disturb his words to tell the girl next to him.

"A voice..." He muttered.

"Koe desu ka?" Sakuno moved the bento to placed her hands on her lap. Dark brown eyes curiously waiting for more information.

"Everyone was forcing me to play. Not until I heard another voice."

"What did the voice sound like?"

"...I couldn't really hear. The voice said my name other than anger. It sounds different than what I was receiving."

"Maybe you'll hear that voice again." Sakuno said softly.

Ryoma lowered his head and continued to eat more of his bento. Sakuno didn't have much of an appetite yet again. All she thought about was that there was more to the dream that Ryoma didn't tell. She didn't want to force him to tell, that would just pressure him more. She hopelessly thought this would be difficult to do. She had trouble returning favors like this, unlike Ryoma, who was doing a good job at returning his. She needed to try more.

"C-Could you tell if it was a male or female?" She replied. Ryoma lifted his head and put the chopsticks inside the bento.

"Not really." He simply stated.

"Worried that something will happen in the dream?"

"Hm..." Ryoma stood up and placed the bento in the bench. He grabbed his red racket and pointed it in front of her face.

"Now I'll see your serves." It seemed that he didn't want to talk any longer. He wanted to play.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

For the next couple of hours, Ryoma observed the serves that Sakuno played. It wasn't in high level that's for sure: they were a little weak since it didn't really go over the net.

"Swing a little bit harder." He advised. The serves that she played were basic so it couldn't be much trouble. Sakuno bounced the ball and threw it high in the air. She attempted to hit it, but it missed and landed on the ground. She made a taint blush; her serves were worst than the basic plays.

"Keep an eye on the ball, also."

'I know...I know!' Sakuno mentally scolded herself. She picked up the ball and took a deep breath. She threw it high in the air one more time and she had to get serious. She made the hardest serve she could and hit the ball perfectly over the net. Ryoma's eyes widened as he finally saw the ball coming at him with such speed. He swung his racket and returned the ball to her. Running as fast as she could, Sakuno tried to get the ball coming at her. To her surprise, she missed and the ball rolled over to a corner.

"Return ace." Ryoma muttered.

Sakuno took a glance at the ball behind her and pouted. She grabbed a spare tennis ball from her skirt pocket and focused on the ball. She just wanted to hit a decent ball and rally the ball with him. That was the goal she intended to pass. The racket and ball made a connection and it swiftly went over the net. Ryoma returned it back and Sakuno, keeping an eye on the ball, returning it with a forehand swing. There were times when the boy saw her practice alone with the wall and to be completely honest, she was progressing little by little, if she put her mind into it. Right now was when she was serious. Her speed wasn't bad, he noted to himself. Nor her form, but it needed a lot more work. He went up the net and smashed the ball to the other side of the court. Sakuno was surprised that he got tougher throughout the game. Was he just testing her? This was her first lesson and they were going at it already.

'I'm still a beginner!' She groaned disdainfully. To Ryoma, he didn't know why he smashed the ball when she was just doing basic skills. He must've got into the game when Sakuno was still going at it.

"Eh..." He placed the racket on his shoulder, "needs more work."

"H-Hai..." She panted with much fatigue. Ryoma observed how much the serves were a bit off, other than that the ball went over the net.

"Serve one more time and that'll be it for today." He tossed the tennis ball to her and Sakuno went to her serve position. She gazed at the other side of the court, seeing Ryoma waiting to look at her serve. Since it was almost the end of her first tennis lesson she had to end it strong. She closed her eyes and felt the ball in her palm. The feel of the tennis ball; how round it was and how hard it was. She clutched it tightly and let it fly in the air and up to the sky. Her eyes opened up and she jumped to hit it. Tennis ball and racket made contact and she let the ball fly hard. Ryoma's eyes widened at how the serve was played and swiftly returned it with no avail.

'It got stronger?' Sakuno rushed to get the ball, but because she was so tired she tripped on the court and missed the ball. She struggled to get up; luckily there were no injuries, just exhaustion.

"I'm fine." Sakuno dusted her skirt grabbed her racket that flew to the side.

She clumsily stood up on her two feet, "Thank you for today." She bowed. Ryoma tugged his cap and put his racket away.

"Whatever." He sat down by the bench and wiped the sweat with his towel.

"Um...we meet at the same place tomorrow?" Sakuno wondered. Ryoma packed his things and nodded his head.

"Don't be late." He pushed the wooden fence and made his way through the alleyway.

"Same with you." She said back with a chuckle. Ryoma narrowed his eyes at the sound of her voice. Happiness, carefree, able to do anything she wanted...sure he did plenty of those things. Just in the back of his mind, he sometimes wished for a longer break and be carefree like everyone else. Tennis was his life, but there was more to life than that. He didn't want to admit too much about being carefree and wanting to have a break, it was unlikely of him. Eager to not get left behind, Sakuno followed behind him back home and left the private tennis court in peace.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was around three in the afternoon by the time Ryoma escorted her home. He left without a word and Sakuno felt like he had a lot on his mind. She was a bit confused and worried but didn't let it show. When she stepped inside the house, she didn't sense anyone inside when she started taking her shoes off. Trying to see if her grandmother was home, she spotted a small note in the dining room table. The note read that her grandmother had a meeting to attend with the principal and it would take a couple of hours for dinner to be served. She went to the fridge and took out a nice cold bottle of water. She sat down on a dining room chair and relaxed for a bit. The lesson wasn't quite bad, yet it was going to get more tougher in each passing week. Taking a gulp of the water bottle, her eyes glanced at the papers in the middle of the wooden table. Being a bit curious, she skimmed through the papers and saw the words 'tennis, girls, enter'.

'There's going to be a tournament?' Sakuno skimmed through it more. It was a tournament for women tennis players in the junior high age. Every woman or young girl who wanted to participate must have a coach with much tennis experience and must be eigthteen years or older.

'Wait...why am I thinking about this? Besides, I can't compete with little experience...' Sakuno huffed a depressed sigh. What was the point of entering if she just wouldn't be important? Her Obaachan would approve of her, but she didn't want her to know about her secret meetings with Ryoma and tennis. Another problem came in mind; where would she get a qualified coach?! Ryoma was her guide after all, but he was a junior high student! Note: Not qualified for the coach age!

...Did she had second thoughts? Did she wanted to qualify for the tournament? She wouldn't even last in the first match! She would be better off baking cookies for a latest bake sale for a community service, not playing tennis...unless...

'I want to do more...'

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was the next day for Sakuno's second tennis lesson. She met up with Ryoma earlier with no disturbance whatsoever in their household. Sakuno had hid the certain papers in her bag, hoping to show Ryoma sooner or later. Right now, Ryoma wanted her to start using the tennis ball machines and anxiously waiting for the girl to hurry up. He was balancing a tennis ball with his racket and rallying it up and down. Sakuno swiped the tennis racket out of her bag and rushed over, hoping that she didn't take too long.

"Gomen..." She muttered.

"Let's go." Saying nothing about her, Ryoma started one tennis ball machine. Ryuzaki needed to keep up with her opponents so the first thing was focusing on the balls' speed.

Sakuno bent her knees and waited for her first tennis ball to show up. With many clanks and various noise, a tennis ball went out from an opening. Sakuno, hesitant to try, used a forehand to hit the ball. She easily let the ball fly out of her sight. Well...that was the first ball. Now there were so many to go.

In the meantime, Ryoma sat on the bench to watch her do her rallying with the machine. There were times when he saw her she hit it, and times when he just sighed if she missed three balls in a row. He boredly put his hand under his chin, waiting for the next five minutes to pass before he could increase the speed. Although with a few slip ups in the past, the girl tried much harder. Was it just to impress him to get on his good side? Or was the deal continuing to grow?

Gazing at the girl, who now missed five balls in a row and that one hit her in the arm twice, he walked over to increase the speed. Something caught his eye when he looked behind the tennis machines. Behind the machines was a huge tennis ball machine, probably around 5 feet with a platform at the bottom. He had never seen it before. Kneeling down to take a look at it, he had a bewildered look, trying to figure out how to turn it on. He decided that it wasn't that important right now and started to increase Ryuzaki's speed a little bit...or so it seemed.

"AH!" Sakuno's eyes widened when so many tennis balls were shooting at one time! Ryoma pressed another button and wasn't paying attention. Shrieking for help, Ryoma's eyes widened with shock, seeing so many tennis balls at the court. He was too focused on looking at the unknown tennis ball machine that he didn't know which button he was pressing. Scrambling to Ryuzaki's side, he pushed her out of the way when the tennis balls were chaotic. Sakuno was pushed to the ground, away from the tennis balls.

"Stay out of the court." Ryoma went up to the tennis ball machine to stop it. Sakuno obeyed his orders and covered her head with her arms over her head. For a few passing minutes, the tennis ball machine stopped in a halt and smoke was coming out of it.

Being a bit too frightened to take a look, Sakuno slowly opened her eyes seeing the court. It was full of tennis balls, scattering everywhere in one direction to another. Ryoma heaved a sigh as everything calmed down.

'He saved me...' Sakuno went to check on him, trying not to slip from the tennis ball floor. The tennis machine was broken that's for sure.

Ryoma answered calmly, "I'm fine. Let's clean this court..." It would take a very long time to clean up the tennis balls. Both of them wished that the freshmen were here...excluding themselves of course.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Finding a few empty buckets, all the tennis balls that were on the court disappeared and placed inside. Ryoma and Sakuno put the buckets near the tennis ball machines. It took so long just to clean up one session; the day wasn't even done yet! Still thinking about the machine, Ryoma went behind it and revealed it to Ryuzaki.

"What is that?" Finally seeing the tennis ball machine in front of her eyes, Sakuno took a look at it. Her eyes wondered with curiousity.

"You know something about this?" He asked, seeing her reaction.

"Obaachan...she showed me an article about a new tennis ball machine. This thing resembles it very well..." Sakuno glanced at the back of the machine to see a digital keyboard.

"I'm not sure...but this is a SAM robot..." Sakuno pushed it in the middle of the court on one side with the help of Ryoma.

"...Can you test run it for a sec? I want to see if this works." Sakuno pressed a button in the back and the tennis ball machine turned on. Ryoma went to the other side of the court, seeing that the robot rose up from a platform. Sakuno pressed a couple of things from the keyboard and the SAM started to work.

Tennis balls started to fly for a forehand drill. Ryoma hit it easily and the process continued. It seemed that the tennis ball machine worked better than the black ones. Sakuno read the SAM manual more carefully and that this machine was a tennis ball robot; able to help tennis players with many basics of the forehand and backhand, doubles, tennis drills, and many training exercises that might help anyone who would want to play the sport. It also helped the tennis pros get a little better each time. Her obaachan was trying to get one for a long time for Seigaku, that was how she overheard about this great machine. What would one be doing here?

"It works fine." Sakuno stopped the robot and it went down from the platform. Ryoma put his racket over his shoulder.

"Your turn."

"Eh? Me?" Sakuno pouted.

"I'm not the one with the tennis lessons." Ryoma walked to the other side of the court and checked out the keyboard and a bonus remote control. "How do you work this thing?"

"It has a manual." Sakuno passed him a small manual book she found under the machine.

Ryoma took a look at it and knew what Sakuno had to work on. The problem was trying to get electronics to work. He wasn't a big fan of technical things, but managed to make it work. He commanded Sakuno to get her racket and practice. This might be a good tennis machine for her to gain stamina, her form, and her forehand and backhand needed a little work. Sakuno was already on her stance and made a thumbs-up that she was ready to go. Ryoma typed a little on the mini keyboard and let the training began. First off was the forehand drill- he wanted things to start off a little easy. The SAM rose up and started to shoot tennis balls at the other side of the court. Sakuno kept her eye on the ball and was successful to hit and it went over the net. More balls shot out and Sakuno returned about ten balls out of twenty over the net.

Ryoma nodded for the approval that she wanted a little bit more. He typed another practice run. This would be a lob exercise. Tennis balls would be flying in any direction and it would be all lobs. Sakuno must return at least ten or more balls out of twenty. The SAM robot positioned itself up to start a lob exercise and a red light blinked. A tennis ball flew high in the air.

'Lobs?!' Ryoma wasn't telling her anything what he was doing, but that was the point. Like he said, anything could happen in a tennis match. Sakuno went back in the base line as fast as she could, but sadly missed when the sun flashed her eyes. She waited for more balls to come at her and another red light blinked. The next tennis ball was high in the air and Sakuno tried one more time. She closed her eyes and hoped that she could hit something, but she missed once again. The tennis ball rolled and stopped by itself.

"Use the court." Sakuno heard Ryoma speak up in a laid-back tone.

'Court?' Sakuno didn't understand. Tennis balls continued to go over the net with a lob and she kept on missing them. This was her ninth try. If she missed this, she would have to start the exercise over again. Her mental goal was to do this just one time and that would be it.

'What does he mean?' Sakuno stopped her running and closed her eyes. All techniques were coming through her mind and she didn't understand what he was talking about. She opened her eyes to see nothing but her tennis shoes, clouding through her own shadow.

'Chotto matte...' Sakuno gripped her tennis racket. She just realized something on the ground.

"Ready?" Ryoma called out to her. Sakuno hoped that her plan would work. She nodded her head and went over in the middle of the baseline. Her head was down the whole time, hands gripping on the tennis handle. The SAM made a red blinking light simultaneously as Sakuno waited patiently. The tennis machine rose up to make the lob. Finally after all the waiting, a tennis ball flew high in the sky. Sakuno remained in her position. Eyeing her surroundings, she lifted her head and made two steps to her left quickly.

'Ichi, ni, san...' Sakuno opened up her brown orbs and jumped.

'Let me...'

--POK--

'Yes.' Sakuno let the ball fly when she finally hit the lob. It didn't make it over the net but she was glad that the lob was finally returned by her. Now all she had to do was do the process over and over again until she returned ten balls from the lobs.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Good." Sakuno sipped on a lot of water from the water fountain and removed her headband out of her forehead to wash her face. She grabbed a white towel to dry herself up and went on drinking some more water. Lobs were so tricky the first time she attempted to return them. Looking down at the court, she made a smile.

"Shadows can be used at the court as well, ne?" Sakuno nodded her head, agreeing with Ryoma who turned off the SAM robot and put it back to its rightful place.

"Remember that shadows don't help that much. You have to look at the ball too."

"Yeah..." The young girl placed the racket on the metal bench and shuffled over to where her tennis bag was. Forgetting that it was still unzipped, she lifted the bag up and a lot of things were dumped on the court-including the papers.

"Ah!" Sakuno put most of her things back inside the bag, but Ryoma grabbed the papers that blew away from the wind. Sakuno gasped softly as Ryoma scanned through them. Waiting for a response, Sakuno continued to put her things away in silence.

"Tournament?" He questioned. Sakuno bit her lip. What was there to say? That she wanted to compete in the tournament just for fun? She knew that tournaments could be so serious-hence all the work that Seigaku had to go through. It took training, perseverence, and pride for the love of the sport. They were all things that the Seigaku senpai-tachi and Ryoma-kun excelled in. Her? She was just a mere girl who wanted to play the sport.

"Yes...there's a tournament in Tokyo. Only for women tennis players." Sakuno muttered with a tint of a troubled mood.

"You're attending?"

Sakuno didn't know what to say, "I don't know."

"You should."

"No I- wait...what?" Sakuno asked with astonished.

"I'm saying you should." Ryoma repeated himself. "Who gave them to you?"

"I was in the kitchen yesterday and stumbled upon it. Obaachan must be keeping them." Sakuno walked over with her bag slung on her shoulder with the tennis racket.

"If you have these papers, then you should be attending." Ryoma stated as he put his hands behind his head. Sakuno lowered her head.

"I can't..." Ryoma opened his eyes to look at her disapprovingly.

Being discontented she continued, "I don't have a coach at the age of eighteen or higher. You act like my guide...but you're not the right age to qualify as the coach. That's the whole reason why I brought it in. Besides, I'm not known in the tennis world yet..."

"_Not yet._ This tournament can be your debut."

"Debut? Ryoma-kun..."

"Do you want this? If you don't have the confidence to know that you're good...that's pathetic." Sakuno's heart cracked when she heard his questions. Did she really want this? She wanted to let the people she knew and loved that she could play! That she could play the sport that they love themselves!

Sakuno mentioned one thing, "But...my problem..."

"We'll think of something." Ryoma stopped her from saying other things. "If you don't want your Obaasan to know about this..."

"It's not that...it's just she's so busy with so many things for Seigaku that she won't have time for me at the moment. I don't want to put up so much work for her."

"Heh. Obaasan's been busy as the coach, ne?" Ryoma made a smirk. Sakuno cocked her head to the side.

"I...I realize...that I really want to attend this tournament..." Ryoma took a glimpse of her. Something was boiling inside of Sakuno, and she herself didn't understand what was happening to her. It was as if time had stopped and zoomed past her like a space rocket. All her shyness and times when she was quiet faded away in the fog of wonderment. Now it was the burning fire of confidence that was inside of her. It was like lighting up a candle from a mantel.

"I want everyone to know who I am. Sakuno, granddaughter of Ryuzaki Sumire, the coach of Seishun Gakuen Tennis Club. I want to let everyone know that I can play." She gripped her bag tighter and tighter, never wanting to let go as if she was holding a yellow balloon. Ryoma faced her with no expression.

"You really want this, do you?" It was rare to see Ryuzaki act like this in front of him. Sakuno nodded her head.

"I really do now..."

'Hm...strange one she is.' Ryoma thought as he creaked the fence open and led both of them out of the tennis court. Once the fence closed and the court was left alone, a tall lone figure was watching from the deserted basketball court. All that the figure did was smirk and balanced a round fruit with a tennis racket.

"Heh...interesting." The lone figure vanished as faint footsteps were walking away from the basketball court.

_'Chibisuke...'_

* * *

**-HaruCherry**

**Note: **The SAM robot tennis machine is real. I DO NOT OWN IT...although I wished I did if I could play tennisxD There's more to Ryoma that meets the eye other than his dreams...continue to read more when I update!


	6. Ryoma's State

A/N: This fic is not following a certain plot line in the anime/manga. If you want it to be, then let's make it after the animated Prince of Tennis movie? Enjoy!

* * *

Secret Exchange

Chapter 6: Ryoma's State

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_"Let me keep one of the registration forms..."_

The sun was finally setting in Tokyo, Japan. Assorted colors of light pink, orange, and red formed in the vast skies as Ryoma and Sakuno started to walk home together. It was a long day and now knowing that Sakuno would probably attend the Tokyo Women Tournament, Ryoma would increase her training tenfold. Who knew what type of players would be entering this tournament. But first, if she was going to attend it, he should probably solve one problem...

_'Where do we get a coach?!'_

This tournament would be next month, starting with preliminaries. That was plenty of time to let Ryuzaki practice with him. First off, it must be private**- **key thing. He was lucky to have found the tennis court hidden behind an alleyway fence-that would be a great training area. The SAM robot would be especially a training bonus. He cursed himself for his height, that way if he was only a little bit taller, he would have disguised himself as a different person. Gravely, he wasn't at the appropriate height and not the kind of person who would disguise himself.

Sakuno ruffled inside her tennis bag and took out one registration form for Ryoma. Ryoma took it and escorted Sakuno to the house.

"Arigatou gozaimasu!" Sakuno slammed the door to the house, leaving a clueless Ryoma in her doorstep. He shrugged and went on home. He just hoped his stupid dreams wouldn't occur at night once again. It kept on happening every night! It was annoying! He wanted them to stop so badly...but he couldn't. He couldn't just ask a random person and say,

_"Hi. Do you know how to stop dreaming?"_

That was simply stupid. Although...he always had this problem for a while now. After he was sick with the fever, Nanako and his mother sensed an uneasy aura from him when he always left the house without their permission or approval. His father, always oblivious at whatever he did, didn't often keep an eye on him, but did notice how much colder and quieter the kid got. Ryoma always felt that each night was getting worse with his dreams...but slowly trying to have small talk with one person. He didn't understand why he was having so much trouble at night.

Silently entering inside the house, Ryoma slipped his shoes off and put the paper away in his bag. His stomach was craving for food, but he decided to wash up first. He went up the stairs feeling exhausted from the day's activities. He hated picking up so many tennis balls, but they were worth it anyway.

Passing through the dark hallway, he went inside the bathroom. He washed his face with cool water splashing his light skin and gazed at his reflection. Eyes looking so tired reflected back from his mirror. This wasn't him. He wondered if dark circles would appear in his eyes, now that would be bad. Drying his face with a towel, he proceeded to his room to change his clothes. He opened the door to his messy room, still the same regular room with a basket of oranges...

'Wait, what?'

On top of his bed was a small little basket, but not just any basket. It was a basket full of oranges. Feeling a strange presence, Ryoma sat at his bed to gaze at the delectable fruit in front of him. He searched for a small note for whoever gave it to him, but it was left anonymous. Hearing a conversation from downstairs, Ryoma went down the stairs to smell the tasty aroma of ramen. It seemed that Nanako was looking through the cookbooks with his mother. He peeked in the living room to see Nanako sitting down in a cushion. Seeing Ryoma's appearance in the room she was happy that he was home.

"Ryoma-san. You're home." Nanako cheerfully replied.

"Is there something I missed?" He wondered. Nanako pointed to the kitchen.

"Find out." She whispered. Nanako stood up from the cushion and motioned Ryoma to go in the next room. Hearing the conversation more in depth, he could hear his mother and father having a conversation with someone.

_"You're back..."_

_"Yeah. Just taking a break."_

_"It's been so long."_

"_I know. I'm sorry for troubling you...okaasan."_

'Okaasan?' With a light push, Nanako went in the kitchen with him.

"Auntie, Uncle, Ryoma's here..."

Rinko and Nanjiroh turned around from their seats in the kitchen to see the new arrival. Ryoma's eyes extended as to the other figure who was sitting down at the table.

"Kobanwa..."

"...What are you doing here?" Echizen Ryoga, older brother, was sitting on a wooden chair with a sly grin on his face as if nothing was happening.

"Nani yo? You don't want to see me? I'm hurt..." Ryoma averted his gaze. Their appearance looked almost the same. Ryoga was taller than him, wearing a dark green sweater with black stripes on top of his shoulders and blue jeans.

"Ryoga will be visiting here for a while." Rinko replied.

"How long?" Ryoma questioned.

"As long as I want for now." Ryoga stood up and ruffled his dark emerald hair. After Ryoma fixed up a little with his hair Ryoga whispered something in his ear,

"Some greeting...it seemed that you didn't get taller the last time I saw you." Ryoma popped an angry vein and wanted to pounce on him with anger, but did not dare. Ryoga was a guest here so he shouldn't act reckless in front of him. Maybe later...

OOOOOOOOOO

Ramen was finally served. Small bowls were placed on the table full of cut up meat, delicious noodles, and fresh vegetables Nanako got at the market. As much as Ryoma enjoyed the meal, he didn't spoke in the table. All he did was hear the stories on how much Ryoga traveled when he was alone. His heart lifted a little, finally seeing a sibling that left him years ago when he was younger, saw him in the last couple of months, and now coming back later to see him. The cruise ship was such a strange place to meet each other, but it didn't matter where they would meet.

"May I be excused?" He muttered when he was finally finished with his ramen. Rinko nodded her head faintly and Ryoma was back upstairs again. Ryoga made a frown, seeing the boy climb upstairs without giving a reason. He wanted to change the subject in the meantime.

"Okaa-san, where am I going to sleep?"

"There's a guest bedroom next to Ryoma's bedroom. You should stay in there." Rinko replied as Nanako helped out with the dishes and plates after dinner. Ryoga wanted to rest after coming here. He was roaming around Tokyo after all when he arrived from different areas of the world. Dragging his weary body out of the table, he walked up the stairs only to be stopped by his father from the living room.

"Going upstairs?" Nanjiroh asked as he smoked a cigarette.

"Yeah." Ryoga answering with one simple word.

"Ryoga." Ryoga stopped on top of one of the stairs and gazed down at his father.

"What is it?"

"...Keep an eye on your brother for a second." Nanjiroh left the living room, only to be going to his room also.

'Why?' Ryoga silently walked through the hallways when he heard a slight groan. He stopped in his tracks. Glancing at the room before his, Ryoga softly clicked the door open, trying not to peek so much light inside. All he could see was Ryoma's body bundled up by the soft bed sheets his mother provided for him. Ryoga was surprised that he was already in bed so fast. Little Karupin was sleeping by his side, but opened an eye to see a tiny crack of the light from the hallway. Karupin jumped off the bed and purred Ryoga's leg.

"Has he been like this?" Ryoga asked in a whisper as he picked Karupin up from the ground. Karupin only cocked his head to the side.

'Oh great. I'm talking to a cat...' Ryoga thought unusually. Ryoga continued to gaze at the boy who was asleep on the bed, but for some reason was rolling back and forth slowly. Ryoga, trying not to make a sound, entered the room and kneeled down next to the bed. Karupin jumped back on the bed, gazing at the master with wonder. Ryoma finally rolled back to the left side of the bed and Ryoga noticed the discomfort the boy was having when he was sleeping. One of his fists was tightened like he was angry or frustrated. Thinking about trying to wake up, it wouldn't make a difference. Ryoga left the boy to be.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I expect everyone to practice their hardest like every other day. Don't slack off."

It was a Monday afternoon and the Seigaku tennis members were practicing like they always did. Coach Ryuzaki was watching all the players with her arms crossed. When one team was strong, they needed to get stronger. They had nothing to lose. She leaned against the fence and noticed that Sakuno wasn't around. She wondered where her granddaughter would be instead of watching them practice. It was quite quiet around the courts. The Regulars already ran their laps and as an everyday thing Fuji would ask for Inui's juice to boost his energy. Tezuka had his usual stoic expression printed on his face. He opened his mouth a little and sighed.

"Where's Echizen?" Ryuzaki turned her head to look at the captain of the tennis club. He was right. Ryoma hadn't arrived yet in the past thirty minutes.

"His sensei from the homeroom told me that he was out attending things. So I guess he'll come by later."

"Aa." Tezuka wasn't really happy one bit. Echizen was late on a daily basis, but by hearing that he had to go out to 'attend' things made him wonder where exactly.

"The next tournament won't be around for the next few months." Eiji said with a pout. He was playing a practice match with Fuji in one of the courts.

"Well we have no choice, eh?" Fuji smashed the ball over the net, but Eiji quickly used his acrobatics to get a point.

"Hoi, hoi! Made the first point!" Eiji jumped high in the air. Fuji smirked; he would end up changing this game around.

Meanwhile, back at the clubhouse, the missing freshman was changing into his tennis uniform. He was a bit slow today and yawning continuously inside that a splash of water didn't really help. Grabbing his tennis gear outside of the court, he made his way outside and closed the metal door. He was pretty upset that he missed morning practice because of an appointment he didn't know about...

_OOOOOOOOOO_

_"Ryoma-san..." Ryoma put on his shoes to go to school when Nanako stopped him. Ryoma was waiting for Nanako to say more when he put all his attention on her._

_"You're going to have to miss morning practice..."_

_"Nande?"_

_"Your parents scheduled a doctor appointment for you." Ryoma gritted his teeth. Appointment?!_

_"Why?" Nanako's mouth made a straight line._

_"You just have to. That's all. Nothing important."_

_"If it wasn't important then what's the point in going? Tell them to reschedule it-"_

_"Not going to happen kid." Ryoma turned around and saw Ryoga dressed up with a bag slung to his shoulder. "They told me to take you. They're attending some kind of market sale outside of Tokyo. They already told the school that you won't be there in the morning." _

_'What?!' Ryoma started to get angry. His parents would tell him whether or not he would not attend school today. Getting it without his approval just made him angry._

_"Did they say to attend afternoon practice?" _

_"It's just a checkup. Now come on." Ryoga grabbed Ryoma's wrist and both of them were out the door._

_"Yadda." Ryoga made a glare at him._

_"I'll get in trouble if I don't take you."_

_"Should I care? I have other things to worry about." Nanako couldn't help but stare at them argue with each other. Ryoga thought long __and hard, trying to convince him to go to the appointment without so much difficulty. His mind opened up and he smirked evilly. _

_"Is that so? Well...father said that if you don't go, he'll ban you from the tennis courts. I'll eventually tell him everything that happened today if you don't go..."_

_It may seem harsh, it may be a lie, but it was the only thing in his mind just to force Ryoma to go to the doctor. Ryoma turned away and he stopped struggling._

_"Good."_

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

_The waiting room inside the doctor's office was silent. White tiled floors were on the ground __when ladies with high heels would make a clicking sound across the room. Paintings of many colored flowers were hanging up on the walls. Ryoga was signing a couple of papers for Ryoma's checkup on a wooden clipboard __with a pen. The younger one sat with his hands on his lap, his head lowered. He really wanted to sleep right now after a few minutes of waiting. He didn't even want to be here in the first place! He would rather play tennis than be inside a boring building. Lifting his head up, he continued to see more of the waiting room. Magazines were in a neat pile on top of a round table and a large window showed the outside of the office. He boredly watched a flying airplane up in the sky when a petite lady called his name. Both him and Ryoga stood up from their seats and walked into one of the rooms._

_"Room 2, please." The lady opened the door to reveal a small little room. Ryoma sat down on the comfortable cushion where the doctor would be treating him. Ryoga sat down in another seat nearby. _

_"Just a checkup for Ryoma?" The lady asked. Ryoga nodded his head. Examining the petite lady, she had round spectacles on and she was wearing a white collared shirt and dark pants. She was wearing a tiny white lab-like coat when she wrote down facts for today. She went out of the door._

_"The doctor will be with you in a few minutes." She bowed and closed the door, leaving the two siblings alone. Ryoga stretched with his arms high in the air. He relaxed, laying his back on the far end of the chair. Ryoma rubbed his temples with confusion._

_"Ano..." Ryoga opened his eyes lazily when his outoto spoke, "Why did you take me here? It seemed you don't want to be here."_

_Ryoga sighed, "Okaasan and Otousan forced me to. I wanted to disagree, but they seemed serious about you." _

_'Serious?' Thinking that his father would be serious, he just made an annoyed look on his face._

_"After seeing you yesterday, you seemed out of place." _

_"Nothing is wrong with me!" Ryoma gripped his own pant leg. Nothing was wrong with him-nothing! If people think that something was wrong with him, he would know automatically. Seeing that he was just fine made himself convince that everything and he meant EVERYTHING was fine. Ryoga was a bit surprised, but he chuckled._

_"We'll see if there is something wrong with you. Don't be stubborn." Ryoma got too fired up for his own good and tried to relax. Ryoga got out of his chair and eye-leveled his brother. Ryoma felt uncomfortable if someone was staring at him, but he would always stare back no matter how intense the glare could be. It usually worked when opponents or enemies walked away. Sadly for him, Ryoga gazed at him first before he could make a move. The older boy made a tiny frown looking at his eyes._

_"Your eyes look so tired." Ryoma made a deeper frown and averted his gaze. Ryoga patted him on the shoulder._

_"I'm sure it's nothing." The door clicked open._

_"Echizen Ryoma?" _

_OOOOOOOOOO_

"Gomen nasai...Buchou." Tezuka heard the tennis gates open to reveal the pillar of support walking toward him.

"Where have you been?"

Ryoma stayed silent.

"Answer your captain, Ryoma." Ryuzaki-sensei replied. Ryoma tugged his cap down.

"...I've been away." Ryoma said nothing more. Tezuka closed his eyes frustrated. He had no time to deal with this right now.

"40 laps around the court." He commanded in a stern voice, "I expect an answer after practice."

Without responding back, Ryoma placed his tennis gear away from the practice matches and ran his laps. Leaning against the tree, Ryoga had his arms crossed thinking about the whole entire morning with him.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Sugoi! Delicious!"

Knowing that it was a pretty warm day in Japan, Tomoka and Sakuno were already inside the ice cream shop ordering their treats. Sakuno made a soft smile, finally having the time to spend time with her friend. Sakuno paid for the treats just like she planned and sat in comfortable seats. The shop didn't have much people, but enough that they could hear soft idle chatter and gossip. The bell would jingle when the doors opened and it was fairly decorated; tons of colors posted as a wallpaper.

"Sakuno! Arigatou gozaimasu!" Tomoka sipped on her chocolate milkshake with whipped cream on top. Sakuno had a plain ice cream sundae that consisted of strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate ice cream and assorted sprinkles. She used a tiny pink spoon and scooped up the creamy substance into her mouth.

"No problem, Tomo-chan." She smiled genuinely at her. Tomoka smiled back and wiped away any messy substance with a napkin.

"Anything happened when I wasn't around?" Sakuno tried to make a conversation. Tomoka thought for a moment and made a pout.

"Not really. It was pretty boring without you, ne?" Sakuno was taken by surprised but nodded her head.

"Same, same."

"Where have you been lately?" Sakuno made eye contact with her friend. It seemed that Tomoka had a serious face planted on her.

"Just around..."

"Argh!" Tomoka slammed her fist on the table, "Say something!" Everyone from the shop was quiet after the sudden distraction.

"T-Tomo-chan..." She hated it when her friend would act this way, but to Tomoka, it was likewise.

"Please! Just say something, Sakuno-chan..." Tomoka had a pout now and started to calm down, "I'm sure that whatever it is, I will understand. Did something bother you? Is someone bothering you?! Because if there are people bullying you then I'll smack them high in the air!"

"N-No..." Sakuno sweat dropped.

"Then what is it?" Tomoka whined. Sakuno waved her hands to try and relax her friend.

"Tomo-chan..."

"Don't you trust me?" Tomoka was starting to use "crocodile tears" on her. Sakuno hated that.

"Of course I do. But...I just want to keep things personally..."

"I can keep secrets!" Tomoka said proudly, "eh...heh...most of the time..." Sakuno chuckled.

"If you are a true friend Tomo-chan, you should know that true friends can tell whatever they want. And I choose to not say anything, because that we can trust each other and that it won't interfere with our friendship." Tomoka blinked, blinked, and blinked again. Since when did Sakuno say so many sentences at one time? But what her friend said was right. If Sakuno doesn't want to say anything and that it wouldn't interfere with their daily lives, then so be it. But it would be nice to know what was going on.

'Oh well...' Tomoka sighed, 'Shigata nai yo...' Tomoka took another sip of her milkshake and made a thumbs-up.

"If you're sure Sakuno...wakarimashite." Sakuno smiled.

"I'm glad...thank you..."

"Just make sure that we can hang out together more right now! The trio is starting to make me bored!" Tomoka sipped more on the milkshake and had an angry look on her face, "ESPECIALLY HORIO!" Sakuno chuckled. All was well for now. But she couldn't help but wonder.

"Tomo-chan..." Tomoka drank half of the milkshake and that it would be gone in a couple of minutes if she continued.

"Nani yo?"

"...Do you ever feel like something is happening at this very moment and that you can't help but think about it?"

"Of course...like right now." Tomoka responded, pointing at her to prove her point, "You won't say anything about what is happening to you right now. I guess I have to respect that. Why the sudden question?" Sakuno lowered her head and ate a little bit of her ice cream, noting that if she doesn't eat the whole thing the creamy treat would melt like freezing hail when the sun comes up.

'I just feel like something is wrong at this moment...'

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The practice was finally over. Ryoma had changed into his outdoor clothes and stepped out of changing room. His senpai-tachi were no where to be seen. That puzzled him a little, knowing that he wanted to hang out for a while. Tezuka was out of sight, luckily for the freshman he didn't need to explain things any further. The only thing on his mind was getting more sleep. His body was physically exhausted from all the training that Momoshiro did: Dunk Smashes, Jack Knife, the list continued on. Ryoma almost fell in the court for crying out loud! Still, he forced his achy body to move and go home to take a good rest. A familiar voice rang through his ears when he took a few steps out of the gates.

"Hi."

Ryoma turned around and saw Sakuno timidly walking toward him. Ryoma lowered his head. He could only nod at her, telling her that he knew of her arrival.

"How was practice?" She managed to ask. After finishing up a discussion with Tomoka, Tomoka had received a phone call from her mom that she had to do a couple of errands. Sakuno could only wave a good-bye to her and hope to talk to her later more in the school day.

"Fine." If it meant almost tripping over, then he should have said the opposite.

"That's good."

"A-Ano...I have to go." Ryoma turned and silently walked away, ignoring the girl that was left behind. Sakuno was bewildered by Ryoma's actions, but it was Ryoma after all.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"So...how was it?"

"It wasn't bad..."

"What did they say?"

"Is it serious?"

"Iie."

The faint conversation could be heard in the Echizen household. Ryoma hated today. He didn't get a chance to be a individual and say what was going on. Now that Ryoga was explaining everything about the doctor's appointment to his parents, everything would be rougher when more people would keep an eye on him. He often didn't like attention, but too much of it could be pretty hard to handle.

"Did the doctor recommended anything?"

"Sleeping pills might help get him to sleep. Otherwise, nothing serious. If he starts to feel really sleepy and more unusual than before, then he has a choice to see a physician."

"Not going to happen." Retorted the younger boy who was sitting at the top of the stairs, away from the conversation. He was eavesdropping since he couldn't get himself to sleep. No way that pills could be the answer. Same with doctors or physicians.

He really needed to talk to someone...

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

No dreams visualized inhis mind as Ryoma woke up from the room. Strange that he didn't have dreams, he woke up around 2 AM. He moved around the bed to be in a more comfortable position, laying his head against his soft fluffy pillow. The room was dark and the moon was his only source of light peeking through the curtains. Karupin slept on the floor, making light snores and was sleeping peacefully. Ryoma blinked his feline eyes lazily, having a blank expression on his face. Some beauty sleep he was having...

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ryoma was walking silently through the hallways of the school. It was already the afternoon of the next day. Ryoga would be staying or roaming around Tokyo for a while so it didn't matter where that guy would be. He just wanted to be in peace. He kept on falling asleep during classes so much that the teacher commanded him to wash his face at least five times. It really wasn't a good day for him, until he heard a voice from afar.

"Ryuzaki, what is it?" He stopped his stroll around the school and waited for a response. Behind him, the long-haired girl gulped uneasily. He had a really good sense of hearing, even though thoughts clouded him like a storm. For her, yesterday talking to him was hard; he must've had a bad day. But hearing his voice a bit colder just gave her a chill through her nerves. She had to let a sentence out anyway when the boy was getting impatient.

"Y-You want to walk together after your tennis practice?"

Silence.

"Ano...you don't need to if you're busy, 'cause otherwise I'll-"

"I'll go..." Ryoma replied softly and continued to make his way to the tennis courts. Sakuno was left alone in the deserted hallway.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Do you have an answer yet?" Ryoma was lacing up his shoelaces when his buchou called him over. Ryoma wasn't in the mood to deal with him. Probably Tezuka didn't want to deal with him either, but seeing that the pillar of support was crumbling, he had to let Ryoma reveal what was happening to him.

"Does the question really need an answer? It's not going to change anything."

"Echizen." Tezuka said his name sternly. He was getting frustrated hearing the arrogant side of him. Ryoma lowered his head and shook it.

"Family business. Nothing more." Ryoma replied. He wasn't completely lying to his captain. Ryoga did come to Tokyo after all. If Tezuka needed proof, then Ryoma would gladly ask Ryoga to come here, even if he did annoy him like hell. It was enough to get his captain's approval that everything was fine and that nothing was interfering with his tennis. Tezuka didn't like that answer one bit, yet he shrugged it off as if nothing happened.

"If that is it, let us know."

"Fine." Ryoma brushed passed Tezuka and went to the tennis courts. Tezuka followed his trail like a hawk. He heard the balls bounce back and forth as they echoed in the tennis courts; everyone was either doing drill, or running laps for their favor.

"Ochibi! You're playing a match with me, nya!" Kikumaru was eagerly waiting for Ryoma to play. It was going to be a singles match without Oishi. Oishi would be examining more on his partner, hence the stamina needed to build up anyway. Ryoma walked slowly to the court and pointed his racket at his senpai.

"Good luck. You might need it."

"Mou! You're mean!" Eiji pouted with sadness. But it was quickly replaced with a smile as he made the first serve of the match.

Behind the gates with Ryuzaki-sensei, Sakuno was watching everyone playing their matches and practicing more basics. She especially kept an eye on the prince, who he returned Eiji's ball with a smash. She watched as Ryoma went back down to the ground and panting slightly. Already Ryoma wanted to take a small water break, but couldn't back down when Eiji might think something suspicious was going on. So Ryoma continued the match until he won.

"Game and match: Echizen. 6-4."

"Oi, doing well there!" Eiji waved his racket back and forth to his young kouhai. Ryoma tugged his cap down and nodded his head. His tennis skills didn't fail him today, at least. Sakuno made a soft smile. Nothing unusual didn't happen-at least until Momo-senpai went over to their court after the match.

"Echizen, why didn't you wait for me this morning?"

Ryoma glared at his senpai, "Momo-senpai?"

"Your cousin told me that you left early to school. I was waiting for you for like a half hour to come out. You made me ten minutes late and buchou gave me 20 laps!" Momo complained with agony. Ryoma shook his head.

"Felt like coming here early. You should know whether to leave or not senpai, that way you won't be late."

"Early?! Echizen, you oversleep!" Momo put his head on top of his kouhai's head, "You're not a morning person!"

"Oi, it's true!" Kikumaru said with his hand on Ryoma's shoulder. The most two annoying senpai he ever had was bothering him. Ryoma better get it over with.

"Like I said, I felt like it." Ryoma walked away, leaving his bewildered senpai in the court. Ryoma passed by a few of his senpai, some of them not bothering to ask anything. The first to make a move was none other than Fuji.

"Echizen, nani yo?" Ryoma lowered his head and continued to walk away from him. Fuji made a frown when his question wasn't answered. It was completely rude to act that way to his senpai. He really wanted to get blackmail about Echizen real soon.

"You all right there, Fuji?" Fuji turned around to see Oishi with a concerned look on his face like always. Fuji nodded his head and had the same smile plastered on his face.

"Fine, fine. No worries." Fuji looked back at the freshman walking away.

"Hm..." Oishi watched Ryoma leave his sight.

"Stop worrying about that kid. He can get over things." Both of them saw a laid back Kaidoh drinking water from a water bottle.

"W-What happens if he doesn't?!" Takashi was getting a bit worried. Fuji sighed and gave him his racket to hold.

"HEY! EVERYTHING WILL BE ALL RIGHT, OKAY?!" Fuji grabbed the racket back and Takashi was in his regular mode.

"I'm sure it's nothing." Momoshiro reassured his senpai. Momoshiro was close to the youngest one so he should know whether things were up or not.

"Ah, Ochibi-chan..." Eiji showed a frown on his face, worrying about the freshman who had just walked away.

'More data to collect...' Inui had a glint in his glasses as a notebook was ready at hand. He would start an investigation later on. Practice was already over.

'If he doesn't talk sooner or later...I have a game that the senpai might really enjoy...' Momo smirked evilly.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After changing back into his school uniform, Ryoma settled himself down in a shady tree by the gates. He hid himself quite well, away from the senpai that have been calling his name once they were done with practice. He didn't bother to say much. It was like him, staying cool while everyone else was trying to talk him into saying something. How troublesome.

"Sakuno, I hope to see you tomorrow!" Ryoma opened one eye and saw Ryuzaki and Osakada walking together. They bid each other farewell and Tomoka went off on her own. Sakuno happily waved good-bye to her friend and eyed her surroundings.

'I wonder if Ryoma-kun is done with practice?' Sakuno turned around to go back to the Seigaku tennis courts. Ryoma sighed. He REALLY hid himself well that Ryuzaki was too dense to look around the trees. It was natural though. Who would want to look around trees lately?

Oh yeah...Inui-senpai.

"Momo-senpai!"

"Oh, great..." Ryoma had an annoyed face when Momoshiro was exiting the gates.

"Hm?" Momo saw the girl running over to him.

"Ryoma-kun...is he still around?" She asked.

"Echizen? Haven't seen him since he went off after a practice match. That kid can be so careless, letting his senpai worry about him so much." Momo scratched the back of his head with irritation just thinking about him.

"Oh...is that so?" Sakuno lowered her head. Momoshiro realized that he had just brought a girl down and he smiled nervously.

"Heh...don't worry about it, Sakuno-chan. I'm sure we'll see him soon. But why do you ask?" Sakuno had a small smile on her face.

"If you're sure, Momo-senpai. Oh...it's not really anything...ja ne."

"See you soon." Momo grinned and walked away. Sakuno made a frown and looked down at her shoes. The trees rustled softly as the cool breeze swooped down like swans landing in a lake. It blew some of her bangs in her eyes and she moved them with her delicate hand.

'I guess he didn't feel like talking.' Sakuno was about to walk away from the school, but she turned back, watching the lonely empty school closing down. Once everything was silent around her, she chuckled softly. She sense someone nearby all of a sudden and she spotted a white Fila cap sticking out.

"Ryoma-kun. Why are you hiding behind a tree?"

"Because I don't want to lose my cover." Ryoma revealed himself behind the trees and walked over to Sakuno casually.

"Cover? Oh, the senpai-tachi, ne?"

"Good guess." He complimented as he passed by her.

"Arigatou." She followed his route home.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Did something happen today?"

Silence.

"Did anything come up?"

'So much questions today...' Ryoma thought with arrogance. Walking back home wasn't all that great when Ryuzaki bombarded him with obvious questions. If he could change the world (besides making himself number one in the tennis world), it would be a world without questions. It might be the end of the world for most people, but at that moment, he wanted no questions. Since he couldn't do anything about the questions, he just grunted and continued to walk. Being a little bit offended by this, Sakuno made a sad face and turned her head away.

'Great...' For some miracle, Ryoma wasn't dense today and noticed the girl getting upset. She was trying to help him that's all, no harm about it. He decided that one more thing should be told-and it might be the whole reason why he was being a bit uncomfortable in the inside.

"Ryuzaki...don't tell."

"Hm? What is it?" Sakuno stopped her feet from following the boy, as he too stopped in the pathway.

"..."

"Ryoma-"

"Insomnia."

"Huh?" Sakuno glanced at the boy next to her. She halted. Sakuno should've parted with him earlier, yet she had too much on her mind and heard Ryoma spoke. She probably didn't hear him well.

"C-Can you repeat that?" Ryoma gazed at her seriously.

"I-Insomnia..." Ryoma leaned his back against a wall nearby his house. He waited for a reply. He waited for something to come out from the girl's mouth, but nothing. Or was he just deaf and didn't hear that well?

"I don't understand-"

"Ryuzaki, I have acute insomnia!" There he said it. Ryoma let out all the stress he was having right now and he was a bit frustrated. Letting all those words sink in, Sakuno was frightened on how he reacted.

"Y-You have trouble sleeping?" Sakuno covered her mouth, Ryoma indicating that she was startled.

'Is it because of the dreams?' Sakuno thought worriedly to herself.

Ryoma could only stare at the peach colored sky. Eyeing the white doves that flew by with grace and elegance.

He whispered, "For a few weeks it started..."

Sakuno didn't know what else to say at that striking moment of truth. She wasn't aware that this would happen right away. She was sure that Ryoma would explain things to her if he wanted to. All she could do was stand there, stand there like a statue until it gets older and cracked. Meanwhile, Ryoma was in his own little world, thinking about the disorder that overcame him...

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**-HaruCherry's Notes: **

**_Acute_/_Chronic_ Insomnia:** A sleeping disorder for people who have trouble falling or staying asleep. Because of the troubled dreams that Ryoma is having, I decided that this is the best type of problem he has to face. Sure in the anime that he sleeps everyday like a rockxD And insomnia is a common thing for most human beings. But this might be a good challenge for me, hence I never wrote a fic that was like this before.

The causes of insomnia are the following: **Significant life stress **(job loss or change, death of a loved one, divorce, moving), illness, **emotional or physical discomfort**, **environmental factors** like **noise**, **light**, or **extreme** **temperatures (hot or cold) that interfere** **with sleep. **Some medications (for example,those used to treat colds, allergies, depression, high blood pressure and asthma) may interfere with sleep, interferences in normal sleep schedule (jet lag or switching from a day to night shift, for example), etc.

The ones in **bold** are the ones that he's dealing with that caused this disorder. I got this information from sites about children or teens with insomnia. I do not own this information as I just used it as a source to help me with this fic.

There might be more that is causing this disorder, but these are the main ones. Also because of his long-time hours of tennis practice alone, he gets tired real easily. I hope everyone understands what is happening. More information will be distributed real soon.

* * *

**!HaruCherry!**


	7. Dream Log

Secret Exchange

Chapter 7: Dream Log

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Flashback_

_"Ryoma...do you have trouble sleeping?"_ _Ryoga narrowed his eyes toward the younger one who was sitting on the table. The doctor had checked everything in his __normal checkup and it was almost done. She was a bit concerned with his breathing and his eyes showing exhaustion._

_"No..." He answered plainly._

_"...Be honest, Chibisuke." Ryoma made a death glare in his eyes. If looks could kill, Ryoga would be flat on the ground dead right now. _

_"If that's the case, then I'm going to have to take action." The doctor scolded him. Seeing that Ryoma wasn't fazed by the doctor's retort, the doctor continued to speak._

_"The only thing I can see is that Insomnia might be the answer."_

'_Insomnia?' Ryoma thought mentally to himself._

_"Don't people have that all the time?" He muttered inwardly. The doctor tapped her pen a few times, hitting the clipboard._

_"They do. For you, it looks like you don't have enough sleep." The doctor scribbled medication and advice in her notes. She swiftly ripped the paper out of the clipboard and handed it to Ryoga._

'_I have enough sleep...' Ryoma stayed silent, trying to think that nothing was happening at the moment. He was just fine, he knew he was. His eyes drooped down slightly but swiftly opened them, hoping that the doctor didn't see. Apparently she did._

_"If it gets worse, give me a call, Ryoga-san." The doctor smiled sweetly. She was just trying to help that's all. Ryoga agreed with her and Ryoma stepped out of the doctor's office._

_"Arigatou."_

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

_"Insomnia..." Ryoga mumbled to himself as he gripped the notes the doctor took for Ryoma. _

_"Everyone has it." Ryoma sipped a water bottle from his bag._

_"Not everyone. It's uncommon for most people." Ryoga __halted__, same with Ryoma who stopped behind him._

_"Father told me one time to watch over you when you were little. You always had nightmares. Are they coming back? You roll back and forth." _

_"You watch me sleep?" Ryoma asked with disbelief. Ryoga didn't want to answer the question, so he shrugged his shoulders plainly._

_"Insomnia can take a while. Kids usually have trouble sleeping these days."_

_"How do you know?" The younger one eyed him, "How do you know if it can heal or not?!"_

_"Chibisuke-"_

_"Ryoga...nothing is wrong with me. You know that don't you?"_

_"The doctor told me to tell it to you. You have Acute-" Before Ryoga could say another sentence, Ryoma brushed passed him, walking away from his troubles. Being really annoyed, the older one grabbed his wrist to prevent him from going anywhere else. _

_"Ryoma-__"_

_"Yadda..." Ryoma didn't have much strength left in him. All he could do right now was stay in this uncomfortable position._

_"You have acute insomnia." His brother replied softly._

_"I don't want to be like this!"_

_"Stubborn brat." Ryoga held him tighter. Ryoma stood like a statue. The grip was tightening little by little._

_Would this cause him to stop playing tennis? He didn't want that to be the case! It was ridiculous to think that because of insomnia he would have a break?! He didn't want this to happen at the last minute. Tennis was his **life**. He had to keep on practicing in order to surpass obstacles. Seeing that it was pointless to argue or move any further, he stopped his bratty antics._

_"How serious is it?" Ryoma started to speak in a low voice. _

_"You just need plenty of rest." Ryoga didn't say much right now. He wanted to stay quiet so that Ryoma would calm down. _

_"Why do __you__ care though?" The older sibling couldn't believe his ears. He wanted to scream, he wanted to shout how he felt, yet he didn't want to startle the younger one just for that._ _All of the mixed emotions in his heart made him almost want to explode._

_"Ever since I left, I haven't taken the best role of a sibling. I'm making it up right now."_

_Ryoma didn't know what to do. All he could do was let his brother do what he wanted and just sat there, like nothing was happening. Ryoga embraced him close, showing him that someone did care for the young player. His mind was drifting away like a childhood memory in a past dream. All he wanted was to be alone and recollect his thoughts. His behavior began to burn like the desert sun._

_"Look," The embrace loosened and Ryoma was out from his grasp. He didn't want to look at the older one before him, "I'll be helping you out."_

_"By doing what?" Ryoma mumbled, trying to have a small conversation with him._

_"Insomnia...and other things."_

_"Hm?"_

_"You want to attend a Women Tennis Tournament?" Ryoga made a sadistic grin. Ryoma's eyes widened and his cheeks flustered a taint cherry blossom pink. So much for changing subjects! Insomnia business would be taken care of later. Right now, the tournament that Ryuzaki wanted to attend had __come up._

_"Who? The girl you were with earlier?" _

_"...Eh?" How did he know such things?_

_"Heh, I caught a sucker." Ryoga wrapped an arm around Ryoma's shoulder, "Anyhow, she's the one that wants to attend?" _

_"Why are you asking?"_

_"It says here that you made a note about a coach. Recommendation only for 18 or older..." Ryoma needed a better hiding place for the registration papers. On top of the desk in his room would definitely be crossed off on the list._

_"Are you saying-"_

_"I'm not 18." Ryoga commented, "But don't I look the part? All I need now are sunglasses to cover my eyes and probably more props."_

_"She doesn't even know you."_

_"She will...if you introduce me to her." Ryoga winked. Ryoma needed to think about it first before he would consider the job to Ryoga. _

_"I'll do it...if you get more sleep in." Ryoga poked his forehead in a playful manner, "If you don't consider getting the sleep you need, I'll stop coaching, girlfriend-chan's tournament will bid farewell, and you will disappoint her...if you care of course."_

_"She's not my girlfriend." Ryoma sternly replied. More sleep? How much sleep could he get? He wakes up at all the wrong times like 2AM or 3AM in the morning. This might be a problem..._

_"Good that I came here at the right time. If I didn't come, you would've thought of cross-dressing if you wanted to attend as a female, ne?"_

_**SMACK**_

_"ITAI!"_

_OOOOOOOOOO_

"Ryoma-kun...you okay?" Ryoma took a deep breath and stood up straight from the wall.

"I'm fine."

"Is it because of the d-"

"No." Sakuno didn't say anything else.

"It just caught me by surprise. I wouldn't have expected this."

"I'm sure it will be okay." Sakuno smiled as sweetly as she could. Inside though, she was shocked and frightened What if Ryoma didn't take it easy with the practices?! She was willing to quit the tournament if she had to, it might be troublesome to herself and Ryoma. She hated it if Ryoma didn't agree with every little thing. Sakuno just had to shrug it off and move on; leaving Ryoma to think about how he would do this. She was willing to be strong for Ryoma, no matter what the situation was.

"If you're planning on quitting the tournament...don't think about it."

'Wow...' So much for reading minds.

"I'm not, don't worry. I'm just..." She smiled sheepishly and stared down at the ground with thought. Ryoma gave her a look but turned away.

"...After my practice, we'll go to the Tokyo Tower to send in the registration form."

"What about the coach?"

Ryoma halted and muttered, "...That's who you will meet later."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The afternoon practice at Seishun Gakuen was a breeze to the Regulars. Inui had placed different colored cans on the court and whatever color Inui or Tezuka called out, that was the colored can that they had to hit. Nothing important; basic child's play.

After changing and running out of the club room, Ryoma had to get back home and find the registration form. He forgot it while he overslept and had to rush to school quickly. Earlier Sakuno told him that she would be around the academy since she had cleaning duty in the classroom-that gave him enough time.

Opening the door, Ryoma went upstairs and grabbed the registration paper. It still wasn't signed by Ryoga so he had to get it to him right away. The tournament forms were due today. He went back downstairs and went out the door, without telling Nanako or Rinko about his whereabouts.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Ryoga-san, PLEASE TELL US MORE!"

"Nah, I'm not done. No worries."

Ryoma had an annoyed look in his face, gazing at his so-called brother flirting with women at the park. He had been searching for his brother for half an hour now. Couldn't his brother consider doing something normal? It wasn't the case when both were related to Echizen Nanjiroh, the woman-izer.

The women would giggle every now and then to Ryoga's lame jokes; to Ryoma it was quite lame. The women waved good-byes to the handsome young man they met and went off to their destination. Ryoga lifted his chin up and smelled the fresh air from where he was standing.

"You have the form?" Ryoga asked out of no where. Ryoma walked over to him and handed it to him. Ryoga read it several times before he would sign.

"You do exactly as I say?"

'I feel like I'm his puppet.' Ryoma nodded his head anyway. Ryoga took out a pen from his pocket and signed.

"When will I meet her?"

"Today. She's still at the school."

'Leaving a girl like that on her own?' Ryoga sighed mentally, 'You have a lot of work to do kid...'

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I'm finished!" Sakuno sat down on the chair as she was done cleaning the home room. The sensei approved her and she could go earlier now. Sakuno thanked the teacher and left the room to meet up at the gates.

Ryoma should be there right now with the coach. Her mind drifted off, wondering who the coach would be. It might be someone professional, someone that could reach Ryoma's standards. Sitting under a huge tree, she waited until Ryoma arrived.

Speaking of Ryoma, 'Insomnia?'

Sakuno couldn't get that out of her head. Out of all people, why him? Why was it that the boy she believed in everyday, the boy she truly trusted whenever he was standing at a court, would have something like this?! It was completely impossible. She wanted to scream at Inui for those forceful jogs that they did, yet it was just training. If Sakuno was in Ryoma's case, she would've argued and wouldn't do it. Still, she didn't really want to say anything because she might get a lecture from her grandmother. Seigaku Regulars were meant to train hard and be their very best to get to the Nationals.

Sakuno was too deep in thought that she didn't realize a shadow was casting down on her. She slowly opened her eyes to see a tennis ball bouncing in front of her.

"Who-?" Sakuno asked as a stranger gazed at her. The tennis ball stopped bouncing on the ground in an instant and the figure made a smile.

"Yoroshiku, Sakuno-chan."

"Do I know you?" Sakuno stood up from her spot to see a lookalike Ryoma.

"Why do you look so..."

"Familiar? I'm the brother of the freshman tennis regular."

Sakuno was speechless.

"Who are you?"

"Echizen Ryoga. Your new coach."

"E-Echizen? Coach?" Sakuno's eyes flashed at the figure before her. Ryoma had an older brother?

"Hai. Step-brother." Ryoma revealed himself from behind Ryoga and Sakuno was spiraling with random questions. Her mind was in a daze just looking at the two men before her. She thought she was seeing two Ryomas.

"He'll be your coach for the tournament." Ryoma replied. Sakuno gave Ryoga a gaze and bowed respectfully. She would be working with him for a while, so it should be reasonable to show him that she would do everything that the coach told her to do.

Standing up straight she asked, "How old is he?"

"He's...20. For now." Muttered Ryoma in an uncomfortable way.

"I'm 16." Ryoga commented.

"NANI? We have to be honest with these people at this tournament! Who knows what will happen if they find out!"

"They won't find out if we lay low. Ryuzaki...do you have a nickname?"

"Nickname?"

"Or a different name." Ryoma tried to make things clearer.

"Not really..." Sakuno replied unpleasantly.

"Last name needs to be changed too..." Ryoga thought for a moment.

"Hm?" Ryoma heard Ryoga asked if he could borrow a piece of paper and a pencil. Ryoma went through his bag to find a clean sheet of paper and a pencil to give. Ryoga kneeled down to his knee and placed the paper on his leg to write something out.

After writing and erasing several times, Ryoma and Sakuno couldn't help but wonder what the older one was doing.

"You're no longer Ryuzaki Sakuno on the tennis courts."

"Eh?"

"Your new name...is Yukizo Sakura."

"Sakura?" Sakuno was terribly confused. Was there something behind that name? Ryoga ushered his brother to come closer to him, holding the paper in front of him. He silently whispered something to him and Ryoma glanced at the paper. Finally getting what his older brother was saying, he nodded his head, showing that he understood.

"Take a closer look at this name." Sakuno took the paper from Ryoga's hand and glanced at it. All she saw was her real name being crossed out, but only the letters.

"I don't understand..."

"It's an anagram. Anagrams are rearranging letters of a word or phrase to produce other words, using all the original letters exactly once."

"The name we produced for you is an anagram."

Taking a closer look at the name, Sakuno realized that they were the same letters used in the other name.

"Am I really going to be changing my name?" She glanced at the two boys.

"It's only to keep your identity hidden. You see, this is an anagram, you can say that it is qualified, we just arrange the letters to reveal your other name. You can still attend the tournament whether or not your identity will be revealed." Ryoga answered her question.

"Is that possible?"

"The idea is to keep the name Yukizo Sakura in the form, if you don't want your real identity written." Ryoma shrugged.

"Demo..." Sakuno turned to Ryoga, "you're lying about your age , Echizen-san."

"Hey...call me Ryoga-buchou, ne?" Ryoga winked with a grimace of his face. Sakuno was starting to worry now.

"Gomen. This is all so sudden..." Sakuno's head was starting to hurt that she leaned against the metal gates of Seishun Gakuen.

"Do you want to talk to her?" Ryoga recommended.

"What's there to talk about? It's her decision to do this or not." Ryoma retorted.

"Comfort her for pete's sake!" Ryoga yelled out loud.

"I didn't do anything."

"That's not the point! Ryuzaki-chan is uncomfortable about doing this."

"..."

"Chibisuke, be reasonable. No one does this at a daily basis."

It's true. No one does-unless it was for personal reasons. Still Ryoma was too dense when he thought about stuff like that.

"Ryoma-kun..." Ryoma gazed into the eyes of Sakuno.

Sakuno bit her lip with discomfort, "I don't want to do anything that might affect you, especially with your disorder..."

Ryoma lowered his head, glancing at the cold pavement. Ryoga patted his shoulder.

"He'll be fine, no worries here. I'll be keeping an eye on his sleeping schedule."

"Since when did I have a schedule?" Ryoma mumbled to himself.

"Is that so?" Sakuno questioned.

"He'll still train you, yet it can be for a small period of time. At that time, I'll take over."

"Oh..." Understanding the way things were working now, she really had to trust the two of them. If Ryoma was going to trust him, then she should do the same.

"Shall we be off?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Yukizo Sakura, you'll be starting your preliminary round in the first week. Please come by soon at the tennis clinic from where it will take place. Thank you!"

It was not that long when Sakuno, Ryoga, and Ryoma arrived at the Tokyo Tower to deliver the papers. The advisor stamped the form, meaning that she was attending.

"Ryoma, can I show her where her training would be?"

"We already have somewhere in mind." Ryoma stated as they continued a route to where they would go home. Ryoga took a step back and turned the other way.

"It won't be that long." Ryoga walked the other way, hence Ryoma and Sakuno have no choice but to follow him. For some strange reason, the freshmen knew this area, crossing the busy streets to avoid the cars from traffic.

"You going the right way?" Ryoma questioned.

"I'm sure you know this way. You've been coming here a lot." Ryoga went through an alleyway and pushed a creaky fence. It revealed the same tennis court that Ryoma and Sakuno used recently.

"How did you-"

"Do you remember my coach when we were at the cruise ship? You see, I was willing to be on the team...if he made a court for me."

"And they put it here?" Sakuno commented.

"He made a bonus and gave me the SAM robot also. I haven't used this court ever since I traveled around with him." Ryoga kneeled down from the tennis court and grabbed a tennis ball at hand. He threw it and the tennis ball landed perfectly inside the basket.

"Sakuno, your training will start tomorrow after Chibisuke's tennis practice."

"Ryoga-" Sakuno was about to respond back, but Ryoga beat her to it when he whispered something in her ear.

"Questions may be asked later on, okay? Don't worry about it too much."

"H-Hai..." She was trying to get used to calling Ryoma's brother a coach. She barely knew about this person though. Somehow, she would probably learn about him more when she actually practiced with him.

On the way home before Sakuno's departure, Sakuno nearly forgot something. She opened her school bag to reveal a silver notebook, a notebook with a tennis ball printed on the front cover. She shyly ambled over to Ryoma with a tint blush on her face.

"A-Ano...this is for you." She held the notebook with both hands as she lowered her head nervously, waiting for the prince to accept it.

"Hm?"

"Just...just have it, onegaishimasu!" Oddly enough, Ryoma took the notebook out of her hands and put it in his bag for safe keeping.

"Thanks...I guess." Ryoma slowly passed by her and took his route to go home.

"Ryoma. Ah, Sakuno, sayonara." Ryoga rushed to catch up and Sakuno waved good-bye.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ryoma glared at the tablet that Ryoga was holding in front of him- he didn't want to take it at all. They were sleeping pills. He covered himself with the blankets, just wanting to sleep and ignore Ryoga, who had a frustrated look on his face. It was already night time and the both of them just wanted some sleep.

"Take it." Ryoma peeked under the covers with one eye making contact with the bottle.

"Just one pill today. It won't kill you." Ryoga pulled the covers from Ryoma and the younger one wanted to snatch them back. Ryoga had the blanket over his shoulder and holding the pill in his hand. It was a tiny, plain, round pill, completely harmless.

"Pill." Wanting to get the sleep he so desperately needed, Ryoma took the pill from his brother's hand and gulped some water at the side of the bed. After he was finished, Ryoga threw the blanket over Ryoma's head.

"See? That wasn't bad. Now try it again for a few days. Night." Ryoga closed the door with a click, leaving the young tennis player alone in his messy room.

Karupin was looking outside from the windowsill, gazing at the dark sky. Ryoma silently turned off his light but remembered something inside his bag. When the girl gave him the notebook, curiosity got to him. He pushed the blankets aside and went to unzip his bag. He carried the notebook back to his bed and sat down silently, just gazing at it. What was the point of having a notebook? Was it for school? Was it for doodling to his heart's content? Not that he doodled or anything unless he wanted to, but what was it for? He searched for clues- the tennis ball printed on the front cover should be something.

_It could be for tennis tips?_

Ryoma knew that he was great already, his ego probably showing off and all, so tennis tips weren't really the case. Suddenly, he spotted a small tip of paper coming out of it. He opened the notebook only to let a violet envelope fall to the floor. Ryoma picked it up and opened the closed envelope. A white piece of paper was folded and Ryoma had to unfold it in order to see what was inside.

It turned out to be a letter- a letter from Ryuzaki:

_Dear Ryoma-kun,_

_After knowing about your disorder, I come to realize that you need more help from me than what you do in return. I still have your secrets to myself, no worries._

_After receiving clear information about it, I went through the store looking for a notebook. The notebook that you received from me is now known as a Dream Log. Whenever you feel like it, you can write whatever you like , Ryoma, especially the dreams or thoughts you're having if you're very uncomfortable in telling me in person. Give it to me when you want to, okay? I'm sure that this notebook might be useful for you. Keep it to yourself if you don't want people to find it._

_They say it helps people with insomnia..._

_Sincerely,_

_Ryuzaki Sakuno_

After finishing the letter up, Ryoma put the letter back in the envelope. He put the envelope in a nearby drawer and turned off the light from his room. Karupin jumped down from the windowsill and cuddled with easiness at the end of the bed. Ryoma touched the cover of the 'Dream Log,' as Ryuzaki would call it. There were a lot of pages printed with tennis ball design inside. He couldn't help but like that much from the notebook. He put the notebook under his pillow and laid his head slowly down. His sore muscles started to relax as he laid down in the mattress. Looking up at the ceiling with thought, could a notebook really be good communication? Covering himself with the bed sheets, his eyes drooped down to get some sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_A light giggle echoed in a lonely tennis court. The atmosphere was overwhelming and silent. Nothing was heard except for the sounds of a tennis ball bouncing simultaneously._

_"Let's play!"_

_The sudden bouncing stopped and a tennis ball was thrown high in the air, and served to the other side of the court. Ryoma's eyes widened when the tennis ball was coming right at him._

_"Take this!"_

_Ryoma made a smash on the other side of the court and he scored a point._

_"This is interesting..."_

_The opponent he was playing right now was a female tennis player just by the sound of the voice. He couldn't make out the voice, and he never heard it before in his life. He could barely see the figure because she was pitch dark._

_"I hope we can play again soon..."_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Kuso..." Ryoma woke up after the sudden dream. Some sleeping pill, it only gave him a few hours of sleep. His clock showed that it was **3:15AM**. Glancing at a bump on the bed must have been Karupin under the sheets. The little cat moved around a bit to get in a comfortable position.

Ryoma laid his back on the pillow and he could feel the hard object behind him. He still remembered that he put the notebook behind his pillow. After each passing minute, he was drawn to the notebook behind him. Did he feel like writing at this time? Was there even something to write that was important to share? He was getting frustrated for even sharing this type of stuff to someone else. His hand reached under the pillow and he took out the tennis notebook.

'_Use it when needed, 'kay?'_

Voices of a young girl, dreams that could not be explained thoroughly…with a stroke of a pen, he wrote down what he dreamed.

He hoped today would be a good day.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"There we go! Serve it well, Sakuno!"

Ryoma was sitting by the sidelines, watching Sakuno and Ryoga go at it for her daily training. So much for a good day. He was completely upset when Ryoga dragged him to the sidelines to rest up. Ryoga did have a point though. When Ryoma was waiting for Sakuno's serves earlier, every time she would serve, his eyes would droop down and miss the ball terribly. He cursed himself for that. So here he was, just sitting down waiting for Ryoga to finish up before Sakuno's next break.

How troublesome.

Tennis practice at Seishun Gakuen was usual, yet Ryoma sensed that the senpai-tachi were getting a little close to him than normal. No, not in that kind of way. They were trying to figure out the problem that was caused by their kouhai. Ryoma should be more cautious then. They might plan something that might make him crack open. Not that he didn't want to, but that was just his nature.

"You all right, Ryoma?"

Ryoma looked up to see Sakuno panting with exhaustion. How much did Ryoga trained her?

"How about you?"

"I'm fine. Just tired." Sakuno sat down next to him and took off her sweatband. She rubbed her sweaty forehead with a white clean towel and placed her racket on the seat, "Your brother is really good."

Ryoga was by the water fountains, which gave enough time for Ryoma to give Sakuno the tennis notebook.

"Can you take a look?"

"Y-You wrote something already?" Sakuno was surprised. She thought that Ryoma would make his first journal write in like a week after he received it. She never knew it could be this early. She took the tennis notebook out of his hands and she turned the pages in a slow manner. Reading the dream that he just had today and the time when he woke up, she closed the notebook and recollected her thoughts on what to say.

"I see..." Two words. That was all that she could say?! Ryoma lowered his head, not knowing what to do. Some help.

"Did you see anyone else? Or something that gives clues on the girl?" She was asking more questions.

"Iie. Nothing."

Sakuno gave the notebook back to him.

"There's no dream about you losing right?"

"Not right now..."

"Hehe...I'm glad."

"Why is that?" Sakuno blushed a bright pink.

"W-Well...it won't interfere with your sleep, right? I mean...isn't that the cause of your insomnia?"

"..."

"I'm sorry...I said too much." Sakuno turned her head away, avoiding to look at Ryoma with such stupidity.

"The dreams I'm having are interfering with my sleep...the notebook is helping though..." Sakuno looked at him with such hope. She smiled genuinely, glad that Ryoma was using the notebook for his sake. Sakuno had been researching about the insomnia ever since Ryoma had mentioned it. Various web sites had said that a notebook could keep track on how long someone was sleeping, or what someone was thinking during the process. Ryoma's thoughts right now were the most important.

"Oi! Ryoma, you're teaching her next!" Ryoga wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Hai!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Every progress that Sakuno made was very good. She started to excel on her serves and stamina if there was a longer match. Ryoma still had to give her a few simple basics and walk her through the court. If she could do way better than what she was doing right now, she could make moves that could be useful in the court.

_"Your opponent watches you. Do the same thing. Smash the ball when you have the chance."_

The sun was setting once again to end the training. Ryoma was in front of Ryoga and Sakuno as they were all walking home. Her thoughts were interrupted when Ryoga whispered something in her ear.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Nani?"

"It's something important..." Ryoma stopped his walking and waited for the other two to catch up.

"Ryoma, go home. I'll catch up to you later."

"Hm? What are you going to do?" Ryoma asked.

"I just have to tell Sakuno-chan more about the tournament, that's all. Go on ahead."

"Che." Ryoma gripped his tennis bag and disappeared in a corner.

"What is it, Ryoga-buchou?" Sakuno asked when Ryoma was out of sight.

"...Ryoma won't be helping you out that much okay? He needs more of his rest...until I see that he can teach you more."

"Shouldn't he make the decisions for himself? Besides, what about the tennis club? He gets tired easily there."

"He doesn't mind the practices there. What matters is the extra practice that he does for you."

"I'll stop playing if I have to-"

"Ryoma wouldn't like that would he?" Ryoga stated with an obvious tone in his voice. Sakuno sighed with tiredness.

"I don't-"

"Sakuno, trust me on this one." Ryoga patted her shoulder, "Ryoma may be a stubborn kid, but he can be too stubborn if he doesn't take care of himself with his restless nights."

"Have you been talking to him about it?" Sakuno questioned.

"Our parents talk to him a lot, but mostly me. There's a reason why I asked my ex-coach to make a tennis court here. It gives me something to do when I visit here without them knowing. And one more thing..."

"...it keeps me closer."

"Ryoga-buchou..." Sakuno lowered her head with a soft smile, "you care don't you?" Ryoga turned his head away with embarrassment. Sakuno couldn't help but imagine her coach with a crimson blush on his face.

"You may say that, but if you mention a word to Chibisuke-" He pointed his index finger on her.

"Ha ha ha. I won't." Ryoga and Sakuno arrived at the Ryuzaki household. Sakuno went up the steps until Ryoga threw her a small little bag with a magenta ribbon. She caught it with ease and inside were different types of chocolates. White, dark, regular, caramel, they all looked delicious. Sakuno just stared at it dumbfoundedly.

"For you entering the tournament, you have a lot of work to do." Ryoga walked away until he was out of Sakuno's sight. Sakuno nodded her head and closed the door to the house. The front door made a soft click and she opened up the bag to take out a round white chocolate. She made a smile, indicating that the chocolate melted in her mouth with a swirl of sweetness. A small slip of paper fell out from the bag and Sakuno picked it up. She placed the bag on a small table and unfolded the paper:

_Yukizo Sakura,_

_The Women Tennis Tournament would like to invite you to a gathering in Tokyo before the tournament starts. There you will get the chance to see your opponents who will or will not make it to the preliminary rounds. We hope to see you at the Hibiya Park where all tennis players will come and celebrate the start of the Junior High Tournament. Please come with a friend! Dress formally also!_

_-Manager of Women Tennis Tournament, Sabuya Kiko._

The last thing that Sakuno read was quite the most nerve-racking thing she ever read in her life.

_Ryoga's Notes: Sakuno, attend with **Ryoma.**_

* * *

**-!HaruCherry!**


	8. Gathering

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Busy, Busy, Busy!

* * *

Secret Exchange

Chapter 8: Gathering

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It had been more than three weeks.

"SAKUNO! LOB!"

Ryoga and Ryoma had trained Sakuno secretly in the private court.

"HAI!"

It seemed that Sakuno was progressing very well lately. Ryoga had been an excellent coach; he was not often the one that screamed or shouted. He had also been giving her good tips when playing in the court and Ryoma gave examples of a bad serve or bad play in a court. So far, she was listening well and trying to please the two of them. Sure there were many klutzy mistakes that she shouldn't really make anymore-like missing a ball or making double faults in serves.

During those three weeks, Ryoga and Ryoma took her to a tennis store to get a better uniform other than the one she wore. It had to look official so people wouldn't look down on her.

"Y-you don't have to do this. I can buy things on my own." Sakuno completely reclined on their gesture.

"The problem is...do you know what to buy?" Ryoga questioned quizzically. Sakuno didn't argue back. She guessed that they thought ahead of time. Ryoga searched around in the store while Ryoma made a good point to her. He criticized her long hair.

"People will recognize you if you don't do something about it." Sakuno sighed unpleasantly. Her hair didn't always get in the way. But for now it was.

"If you don't want to cut it, it's all right. Try putting it in a different style." Ryoma went down on his knees and looked around for wristbands. Sakuno gazed at her reflection in a store mirror to see her long braided hair. She always had second thoughts of her hair, wondering if she should cut it or not.

'Maybe...in a bun?' Sakuno played with her hair for a while until Ryoga called her to check something out. He was holding onto a purple visor with a yellow colored letter 'S' in the middle.

"What do you think?"

"It looks nice." Sakuno took the visor away from Ryoga and put it on. She checked to see how she looked and couldn't help but laugh at herself.

"I don't often wear visors."

"Consider it, ne?" Ryoma took the visor off her head and put it on the list of things that were good for her. Something caught Sakuno's eyes in the meantime. On a shelf there was a row of tennis gloves. People didn't often use gloves whenever she watched matches from Seigaku. A pair of light purple gloves rested in a small box...

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Most of the shopping went pretty well. Sakuno bought herself a white buttoned T-shirt with a small sun logo on the right side pocket. It had a matching white skirt and she gave herself a new pair of Addidas. She also ended up getting the gloves. It was all coming from Ryoga's wallet. Ryoma couldn't help but grimace at the thought of Ryoga's wallet going broke. It was a small payback from that cross-dressing comment. Sakuno was willing to pay back the money for her coach, yet Ryoga was doing another favor for her. She was REALLY guilty about it.

"So...did you say anything yet?" Sakuno gazed at her coach who was holding all her stuff behind his shoulder. She shook her head.

"Did you even _attempt_ to say anything?" Sakuno puffed her cheeks and still shook her head. Ryoma was in a daze and kept on walking, not paying any attention to their conversation.

"W-Why are you asking such things, Ryoga?" Not hearing the honorific, Ryoga decided to let it slip by.

"Because the gathering is tomorrow."

Blink...Blink...Blink...

"EH?!" Sakuno covered her own mouth and Ryoma turned to stare at the pair. Completely bewildered about what was happening, he didn't want to be any part of it.

"It's tomorrow, Sakuno."

"Ryoga-buchou...I...I can't" Sakuno timidly played with her fingers, showing Ryoga that she could not go straight forward and ask Ryoma to come with her. Ryoga made a smirk.

"Chibisuke! Go with Ryuzaki-chan!" He shouted out loud. Sakuno's eyes widened with shock. She couldn't believe what Ryoga was doing. This was torture.

"Hm?" Ryoma heard his name from afar and waited for Ryoga to say more.

"There's going to be a gathering for the Women Tennis Tournament. I'm sure that you like to enjoy yourself! Sakuno needs someone to go along with her." Sakuno was flustered and was crying on the inside. Why must this always happen to her?!

"Hontou?" Ryoma saw that the girl looked desperately, but he brought up a good point, "Why don't you take her? You're the coach."

"Eh? Uh..." Ryoga kept on thinking uneasily.

'He doesn't want to come...' Sakuno gave up hope.

"You're the one that suggested her to be in this tournament. And knowing that she's a really good friend to you, shouldn't you be doing more than that?" Ryoga tried compromising with him, telling him that he should go with her. Sakuno's heart rate was beating very fast for the lack of patience.

'Just say no! Just say no!' She was practically screaming in her head.

"I'll go."

"THAT'S ALL I WANT TO-" Sakuno opened her eyes and she was being gazed at the two of them in a strange way.

"Wait...what?" Her mind rattled.

"I'll go." Ryoma shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care about the whole predicament.

"A-Are you sure?"

"Heh, take care of her well, kid." He muttered with a grin. Ryoma gave him a she's-not-my-girlfriend-now-leave-me-alone glare. Ryoga sighed with amusement and continued to go along with the conversation.

"Give him details soon, Sakuno. The gathering is tomorrow."

"Yes, Ryoga..."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Syuusuke..."

In the Fuji residence, Syuusuke and Yumiko were alone in the house. Their parents had gone on a trip and had trusted Yumiko to take care of things when they were gone. The house looked clean as usual, just as Yumiko liked it to be. Everything was neatly in place as she held a deck of cards in front of her brother. Yuuta was obviously back at the dorms of his school, but willing to visit sometime.

"Nee-san?"

"Do you want your fortune taken?" She politely asked. She had nothing else to do in the house and Fuji's practice was already done.

"Saa, why not..." The two siblings walked over and took a seat at a dining room chair. Yumiko silently held a few cards in her hand. They were all random so it didn't matter which Fuji chose.

"It seems that you're troubled on the inside...everything all right at school?" Fuji couldn't help thinking about his young kouhai, how he separated himself from the other Regulars. Ryoma was stubborn after all but Fuji wanted to do something about it. He tried relaxing on the chair to ease himself.

"I'm fine, Nee-san. Continue..."

"Well, since you're a little 'troubled', it seems that they may be over if you find out more about something..."

'Something like Echizen?' He thought to himself. He shook his head thinking about silly stuff.

"Thanks. I needed that." Yumiko smiled cheerfully.

"No problem, Syuusuke."

Yumiko would never know that Fuji had interesting information forming in his head.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Inui..." Inui was writing more descriptive information on his notebook when Fuji was behind him. It was after tennis practice on a Friday and as usual Ryoma had to quickly go 'home' and get more 'practice' in. Those two were left alone, changed into their black school uniforms.

"Fuji?"

"Do you mind stalking our kouhai?" Inui was puzzled to hear the poor tensai say those words. He wrote something down on his handy notebook.

"Fuji: Tends to be random at times when he wants to be. Brings up good points when needed, but weird points at that...ii data..."

"Inui..." Fuji grew impatient yet had his trademark smile plastered on his face.

"Gomensai...what do you mean?" Inui wasn't smart enough to get what Fuji meant.

"You see..."

Fuji told his whole plan to the data-man. Inui wrote down all the data needed. Maybe Momoshiro's idea wouldn't be put into action. Another time someday...

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"You want me to wear that?" Ryoma was pointing at a dark blue yukata that Ryoga wad lifting up from his bed. The yukata was decorated with white stars and a moon was on the back. In the middle of the moon was a kitty's head. It was around sunset. Sakuno gave all the information about the gathering earlier during her training. Eventually, Ryoma would just be another bystander in the crowd. Anti-social person he really was...

"It's the only one I got that could fit you." All of Ryoga's general yukatas were bigger. Ryoma made a frown, cursing himself for his lack of height.

"You can't leave the girl hanging by herself. She needs a friend to go with her..." Ryoga continued to tease the little kid until he grew completely annoyed. Apparently, Ryoma was getting a bit irritated and changed into the yukata. Ryoga snickered.

"You're still made made daze for being cute right now." Ryoga opened the door to his room and lead Ryoma out. Both of them went down the stairs, Ryoma swiftly trying to hide himself in front of the adults of the house by hiding behind his stepbrother.

"Oi! Ryoga!" Ryoga pushed Ryoma out the door and saw his father standing up with a newspaper in front of his face. Ryoma made an 'omph' out the door and fell down clumsily, his face real red with embarrassment. Ryoga did his best not to laugh, but he couldn't help letting a chuckle out.

"Dammit Ryo-" Ryoga closed the door, not bothering to hear the younger one curse at him.

"Where are you going at this time?" Nanjiroh was stating the fact that it was already dark. He was oblivious from hearing what was going on outside.

Ryoga was putting on his shoes saying, "Can I just drive around Tokyo for a while? I'll be back soon." The father was suspicious, but shooed him out.

"Be back!" Nanjiroh said his last words before he closed the door. Nanjiroh would bother him later once he gets back.

"Yeah." Ryoga was walking on the sidewalk of the house when he tripped on something. Ryoga fell, his back stinging with pain. What tripped him though was embarrassing to him.

A tennis ball.

"Mada mada dane..." Ryoma held a white fan in his left hand and Ryoga was giving him a death glare when the door from the house opened again and it was the mother.

"Ryoga, did Ryoma take his sleeping pills? He's with you right? I saw him passing through..."

'Mom...' Ryoma heaved a sigh. He could never get away from his mother that easily. He wondered how her instincts worked.

"By the way, why is he-" His mother was staring at Ryoga's yukata worn by Ryoma. She recognized it so easily. She made that for him.

"Ano...he'll take the pills later. I promise. Ja ne!" Ryoga opened the driver's seat and started warming the car motor. Ryoma slammed the door shut, holding a jacket to prevent himself from freezing to death.

"Ryoga-"

"We're going now." Ryoga had his driver's license ever since so it was okay to use his father's van for a while. It was the only transportation to get to the gathering. The van drove away from the deserted streets and Rinko was getting cold from the chilly wind. She closed the door from the house and returned to her business.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Go left here?" Ryoga was going through the directions to Ryuzaki's place. It couldn't be that far anyway. Ryoma pointed left and it was the stop. Ryoga honked the horn of the van, a signal that Ryuzaki could come out of the house without her grandmother knowing. Lucky for Sakuno, her grandmother was attending yet another meeting for school equipment. Hearing a door slam, a knock was on Ryoma's side of the van. Ryoma slid down the window and gazed upon the girl before him.

Sakuno was dressed in a light pink kimono, soft silk brushing past her milky skin. The decorations were white sakura petals drifting in the breeze and a red obi putting it all together. She was wearing wooden slippers and her hair was neat with one long braid passing her mid-back. On the side of her hair was a white lily hair clip.

Swiping a gold fan from her hand she said timidly, "Kobanwa...minna..." She went inside the van that Ryoga automatically opened with a press of a button. She sat down on the back seat, waiting for the van to go to their destination.

"You look wonderful, Sakuno-chan." Ryoga made a thumbs-up for her. Sakuno smiled sweetly as she could. Unable to hear anything any praise or comment from Ryoma, she sighed softly and laid back on the chair.

"Oi, what's with the red face?" Ryoma snapped a glare at Ryoga. Sakuno noticed a slight redness in his face. Was something bothering him? Or was he?-

Nah...

"Shut up..." He muttered. Ryoga laughed as he drove both of them to the gathering.

"Follow them?"

"Of course!" Two dark figured passed through the night, following the light brown van at a fast pace.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Go on. It's an open gathering after all." Ryoga left the two of them alone, not bothering to ruin a special moment. He clearly wanted to annoy and bother the boy with ease, but maybe next time when he was sure to go after him.

In the center of Tokyo there was a park; a beautiful park at that. Bright and nicely cut grass lay in the atmosphere as different colored leaves blew in the breeze-big or small. A crystal clear lake shown in the distance made the environment so tranquil and wonderful for everyone. Illuminating lanterns were decorated by the trees and tennis players, who were mostly girls from Tokyo, came to meet all the competitors for the tournament. Ryoma and Sakuno already entered the gates, seeing that everyone had their game face on. Aside from that, Ryoma gazed at the older people behind some of the junior high girls.

'Those must be the coaches...' Ryoma narrowed his eyes at the young women staring at him, probably whispering,

"Who is he?"

"Is he a tennis player?"

"Ooooh! Kawaii..." Ryoma's reaction was uninterested, women swoon over him like a delicious chocolate cake. He completely ignored all the unneeded comments and watched people pass by cheerfully. Little children ran happily to play small games or play in the lake.

One of them was pulling gently on Sakuno's kimono.

Sakuno looked down to see a tiny girl dressed up in a lime green kimono with a forest green obi.

"Do you need something?" Sakuno kneeled down to make eyes contact with the girl. The girl bobbed her head up and down and she was making small tears in her eyes.

"D-Daijoubu? Are you lost?" Sakuno rubbed her shoulder comfortably. The little girl cried more, Sakuno didn't know what to do. She panicked a little and Ryoma didn't bother helping her. He was just watching as entertainment, waiting for the next move. Unfortunately it didn't came when a loud voice startled them.

"Maki!" Sakuno's head went up as a young girl her age was running, clacking her wooden slippers here and there. Sakuno looked back down to see the little girl running to the older girl with arms spread out. Both of the girls were in a tight embrace.

"Never separate from me again! I was looking everywhere for you!" The older one lectured as her hands were on the little ones' shoulders..

"Sorry..." The little girl who came to known as Maki promised and started kicking dust with her slipper, like a child who would do something bad. The older one stood up and bowed.

"Thank you for finding her."

"N-No problem." Sakuno replied.

"Usu..." Ryoma replied also.

"Watashi wa Minamoto Minako desu. Yoroshiku. I'll be attending the tournament."

Minamoto Minako had sky blue hair, a side bang covering her left eye. From the way Sakuno looked at it, Mimi had silver eyes like platinum. Her kimono was designed like the ocean sea, pure blue with various colored fish. She fanned herself slowly and smiled peacefully, showing generosity to them. She had a pretty nice figure, men would fall for her in an instant.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Ryu-" Before Sakuno could say anything else, Ryoma nudged her with his shoulder. She was about to say her real name than the other name that she signed with.

"Um...Yukizo Sakura. Sakura desu." Sakuno bowed her head low. She almost blew her cover.

"Sakura-chan? I hope we can play each other soon!" Minako made a huge grin.

"I hope so too." Sakuno and Minako shook hands and hoped for the best.

"By the way...be careful talking to a girl name Kato Izumi. She's attending the tournament."

"Hm?"

"You don't know her? My oh my have you been missing out!" Minako made a disbelief face, "Izumi-san is a year older than us. She's a prodigy and pretty well known. When she plays, people say she terrorizes them."

"How do you know that?"

"She won various competitions in Japan. Strange enough, she has never been in an official tournament."

"Is there a reason for that?"

"Nobody knows...just watch out for her if you meet up or something." Minako felt a small tug on her kimono sleeve. Little Maki was anxious to play a game in a nearby stand.

"Bye bye!" Maki held Minako's hand and the two siblings walked away.

"You can't let your guard down on people." The young tennis player muttered inwardly to himself. Sakuno couldn't help but agree with him.

"D-Do you...want to go around?"

"There's a reason why we're here right?"

"Of course..."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

For the past few hours during the gathering for the Women Tournament, Sakuno had never had better days just like this one. Being with Ryoma was bittersweet. She was glad to be with him, yet feeling guilty at the same time about his health and shouldn't be outside this late at night. There were times when she wanted to ask Ryoma to leave the park and wouldn't get in trouble by her grandmother.

Sakuno's heart was beating rapidly; time was passing slowly like clockwork. So far, everything was silent between them; except for the cheerful smiles and chuckles she gave him. She won a few times, catching different kinds of fish with a small net while Ryoma hits a tower of bottles easily with a hard ball. His prize was a stuffed cat, resembling quite like Karupin. If he kept it, he would mistaken for the real one. He held out the stuffed cat to Sakuno.

"What is it?" Unaware of Ryoma's actions, Sakuno gazed at the kitty.

"Take it."

"Ryoma-kun, you won it."

"I don't need it."

"You sure?"

"Here..." Sakuno put the fish inside her bag and carried the stuff cat that was in Ryoma's arms. The soft grayish fur touched her milky skin, feeling relaxed and comfort. A special bonus within the stuffed animal was Ryoma's fresh scent. She was crazy thinking about it.

"Thank you..."

"Everyone! Thank you all for coming to this Women Tennis Tournament Gathering!" An announcer nearby a stage called out to everyone with a microphone, "We hope that all the participants will do well in the preliminaries tomorrow! Don't be late or you're officially out!"

'Don't be late...' Sakuno repeated those words to herself a few times. The announcer asked all participants to come up to the front. Ryoma gave Sakuno a light push without hesitation. Sakuno fanned herself slowly with nervousness. She eyed every girl that came up to the front.

'This...is my competition?' Sakuno felt a nudge on her shoulder and it turned out that Minako was right next to her. She couldn't help but wave a little to her.

"Anyway, this will be exciting for all to watch! Please come and cheer for the wonderful women who will be entering this tournament. Welcome our sponsor, Kato Tsuyoshi." A big man with a black suit and tie came up to the stage. He had dark brown hair and seemed to have a serious face with circular spectacles. He could be mistaken for a body guard of a famous movie star!

Behind him was a young girl in a yellow kimono with a gold obi. She had long brown hair tied up in a high ponytail that reached her mid-back. Tiny white blossoms right on top of her head. Her eyes had the same expression as the man next to her. She seemed to be a serious type who didn't back down.

"Kato Tsuyoshi, please to meet you." The young girl stepped up.

"Kato Izumi, please to meet you." Both of them bowed honorably.

"Is that-?"

"Hai." Minako whispered, "Izumi-san."

"Her father is the sponsor for this whole tournament?"

"Seems so. It's unexpected. Her father should be in business and attending errands. I wonder what's up with that." Sakuno cocked her head to the side.

"How do you know all that?"

"Her father's quite big also. So don't act surprised and all that."

"After this gathering, let all participants get a good night's rest. Until then, I wish the best of luck to all." Mr.Tsuyoshi commented.

"I agree with my father. Let us play as I will, too." Izumi slowly played with a strand of hair by her shoulder.

'I will beat you...' Minako thought with desire.

"That's all for now. See you tomorrow! Let the preliminaries begin!" The participants cheered with glee. Minako and Sakuno were smiling greatly.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The smooth drive home was silent as Ryoga parked in the curb of Ryuzaki's place. It was around eight to nine o'clock as they got back. Ryoma and Sakuno went to the front door, bidding each other farewell.

"The first match won't be nerve-racking. I promise you that." Sakuno simply nodded her head.

"The idea is to use all the techniques that Ryoga and I trained you to do." Ryoma patted her shoulder, turning the young girl more pinker than her kimono.

"I...promise to do that." Sakuno made a frown on her face, "In the meantime, take care of yourself. You have been working too hard just for all this."

"Not as much as you worked hard. You've been doing well Ryuzaki."

Ryoma turned his back facing Sakuno, "Besides...thank you." Sakuno lowered her head and gripped her left fist.

"For what?"

"You know what I'm thanking you for..." Ryoma walked away from the front door.

Once he was about to step out of the curb, Sakuno replied loudly, "Please get some more sleep, Ryoma-kun! Your insomnia WILL heal!" She tried not to wake up the neighbors, pretty much montone. Ryoma turned his head sideways gazing at her. He then walked back into the van, not saying another word.

The van door shut Ryoga lowered the window, "Ganbatte!" He cheered and drove the van away from the residence. Sakuno gazed at the moon and stars in the vast dark sky.

'I'm...I'm in the tournament.' Sakuno thought admirably. She stepped into the house as quietly as she could, hoping that her grandmother wasn't back yet.

As the door closed, rustling startled the quiet night...

"Ii...data."

"Saa...we do good together, ne?"

"Don't get any ideas...Fuji."

"Keep the data in the meantime, Inui. We may need it...tomorrow."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"You had a good night?" Ryoma sat in his bed already dressed to go to sleep. Ryoga stepped in the room again, holding the bottle of pills and water.

"Hn."

"Some response." Ryoga slapped the bottle in Ryoma's hand and waited for Ryoma to open it. Satisfied that he heard the 'pop' noise, he sat down at the desk chair.

"Ryuzaki is really something, ne? The training has been pulling off real well." The step-brother commented with a light joy in his voice, "She'll probably make her own moves someday..."

'New moves?' Ryoma drank all the content of water from the glass and placed it on the table, "She still has a long way to go..."

"Long way or not, she will eventually be good at tennis." Ryoga kneeled in closer to whisper in Ryoma's ear, "She might beat you..."

Ryoma scoffed. His stubbornness was already turned on.

"Cocky or not..." Ryoga took the pill bottle and water and stepped out of the room, "you need your rest and your perseverance."

The door clicked to a close.

Ryoma replayed all the training that Sakuno did. Maybe whatever Ryoga said was true, but she needed more focus and concentration. All the girls that he eyed were all in good shape. Dang...he had keep his distance of his father's magazines, maybe like ten feet more. All the girls he saw were capable of winning. Sakuno might be in the lower ranks if she didn't get her act together.

Sakuno would see the court play in her first preliminary match.

The light turned off and the young prince was sleeping.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"_PLAY! PLAY LIKE YOU MEAN IT!"_

"_Insomnia CANNOT stop you! GO ON!"_

_Ryoma was eying his surroundings. He was at Hibiya Park where the festival took place. He was standing in the middle of the lake, watching fish swim about like nothing was not on top of them. He didn't get why he was standing in water._

"_I HAVE INSOMNIA TOO! AND THAT DOESN'T STOP ME FROM PLAYING! YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT, ECHIZEN RYOMA!"_

_Ryoma turned his head to the side to see Minamoto Minako. He was slightly confused as to why she was in the dream. Minako disappeared in front of his eyes and she was now seen in the other side of the lake. Her hand had a tennis ball ready to be served any minute. The other hand had a sky blue tennis racket._

"_GO!"_

_Minako made her serve and the ball was going straight at Ryoma._

_Ryoma closed his eyes, not having a racket was not safe especially when trying to block a ball that was coming right at you. _

_Somehow, his mind went blank. _

_He opened his eyes and saw two other girls. He recognized one. It was Kato Izumi holding a gold tennis racket. The other one...he couldn't identify very clearly. But when the girl was about to turn her head, his eyes closed once more._

"_Ryoma-kun..."_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

'KUSO!' Ryoma rubbed his head a few times. Another dream was not helping him a whole lot. He put his head on the pillow and blinked an eye open. The time was around 4 AM. It wasn't that bad, but he really needed the sleep. Karupin was snoozing away on top, letting Ryoma smile a bit. His expression changed just thinking about the dream.

'Ryuzaki...'

* * *

**-HaruCherry**


	9. Determination to the Limit

Secret Exchange 

Chapter 9: Determination to the Limit!

OOOOOOOOOO

The morning breeze swept through the bustling city. The exciting atmosphere was rushed toward Nogawa Park in Koganei, Tokyo. It's here! It's finally here! Young tennis girls from Japan all came to this one place with one thing in their minds:to win and get through the preliminary rounds. Idle chatter was all around from pedestrians as they passed by to see what was all the fuss.

In the meantime, Ryoma and Ryoga were sitting on the bench quiet amongst themselves, watching every girl register noisily.

"Is Sakuno-chan going to be here or not?" Ryoga got a little impatient. Sakuno was running late and registration check would be over in half an hour.

Ryoma checked his orange cell phone; should he try calling once more? He did it at least five times already and there was no response. Ryoga just made it more irritating because he kept on asking the same question over and over again.

_Ring…Ring…Ring…_

_The number you like to call is not available. _

_Click_

'Mou…what is taking her so long?' Ryoma's frustration was written all over his face.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing…"

At the last minute,

RING RING RING

Ryoma flipped the cell phone.

"Where are you?" Ryoma said with a tint of irritation.

"Gomenasai, Ryoma-kun! I'm on the bus right now."

"How long will it take you to come here?" He tried asking calmly. Ryoma and Ryoga should've been smarter. Sakuno promised that she would be on time! However it wasn't the case when she was late.

"Eh…twenty minutes. I promise to get there right away! Please be patient."

CLICK

Ryoma leaned his back against the bench. Well…that went well.

"Twenty minutes…"

"That long? Geez…" Ryoga groaned, "I'll be by the vending machines. Do you want something?"

"Ponta."

"That's all?"

"Hai…" Ryoga shrugged and left the boy on the bench. Ryoma lowered his cap to take a small nap. If he would get another dream one more time, he would explode. Random images popped into his head- Minamoto Minako, Kato Izumi, and…of course the girl he knew the longest; Ryuzaki. Despite that, he had no idea what was going on. Every time he would sleep it was always the same process. He closed his eyes to take a snooze, hoping that those stupid images wouldn't flash in his mind.

When he was finally fast asleep a few minutes later, he was unaware of what was behind him.

_One…_

_Two…_

_THREE!_

Ryoma's eyes widened as hands covered his mouth and eyes.

He never saw it coming.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Oi! Chibisuke!" Ryoga was holding a nice cold Cherry Ponta and carrying a bottle of water for himself. He went back to the bench Ryoma was sitting on…well not anymore as he didn't set sight of the boy anywhere.

'Where did that brat go?' Ryoga sat back down on the bench and placed the Ponta right beside him. He gazed around to try and set sight on Ryoma. Sadly, he couldn't see anything.

OOOOOOOOOO

Ryoma struggled to get out of the person's grip. Who the hell would do this to him? He was about to find out when his eyes could finally see light. He was by the Nogawa River.

"M-Minamoto?!"

He couldn't believe that he was kidnapped by a girl.

"What the hell are you-"

"Will you quiet down?! I'll explain." Minako was already dressed in her tennis clothes, consisting a white headband on her forehead with matching sweatbands. She wore a light blue tennis top with a crescent moon insignia on the left side and white shorts. By looking at the shoe brand, it was Nike. "And please, don't cuss to a girl like that."

"The reason I cussed is because you took me away while I was asleep!"

"Gomen, gomen." Minako narrowed her eyes. "It seems you didn't introduce yourself yesterday, yet I'm quite wary about who you are. Echizen Ryoma, ne?"

"My name goes around…" Ryoma simply stated. Minako smirked. She was completely satisfied that she was now with the tennis prince.

"Hah, so it is you. Are you here with Sakura-chan?"

"She's not here yet."

"Huh? Doko?"

"Bus."

"Oh, I see. Anyway, the reason I did that unspeakable action was because I had to make sure it was you. What in the world are you doing here?"

"Watching the tennis tournament."

It sounded like the most obvious answer in the world-especially if it was coming out of him.

"Are you…an assistant coach for her?"

"I state facts whenever I want to. Now can I go?"

"Ugh…you didn't answer my question. I'll let it go for now. But just know this, I want to play a match with you after the preliminary rounds." Ryoma was a little taken back. What in the world did this girl wanted from him? He waited for more information.

"After the preliminaries are over, meet me by the bench where I found you."

"What if I don't want to play a match with you?"

Minako glared at him, "Believe me. You will be grateful playing me. There is a reason you should play." Minako turned around to walk back, Ryoma following along. There was a huge attitude change toward the girl. She didn't act this way when they first met yesterday. Seemed like she was showing a side that he wasn't aware of.

OOOOOOOOOO

"YATTA! I'M HERE!" Sakuno jumped out of the bus as fast as she could, pushing around some people to get to the registration booth along the way. Sakuno spotted Ryoga around that area and she shouted his name repeatedly to get his attention.

Ryoga's ears perked up and saw Sakuno running toward him so he stood up from the bench.

"Finally, ten minutes to go. You're here on time."

Sakuno panted roughly, "Sorry, I was doing a warm-up at the court and I didn't notice the time."

"At least you're here." Ryoga responded. Sakuno gazed at her surroundings.

"Ryoga-buchou, where's-"

"OI! SAKURA-CHAN!" Sakuno and Ryoga looked to the side and saw Minako and Ryoma walking.

"Minako-chan…" Sakuno waved hello, "when's your match?"

"Me? I'm in the fourth preliminary match. Hey, shouldn't you register now?"

"Ah! Let's hurry!" Sakuno cried and both of them ran to the registration booth. Ryoga glanced at his brother, who was all of a sudden deep in thought.

"You! What happened to you?! I'm holding your Ponta, ya know?" Ryoma ignored his questions and swiped the Cherry Ponta out of his hands.

"HEY!"

OOOOOOOOOO

"Thank you for the registration. Please let the coach sign and you'll be ready to go."

Ryoga flashed his dark sunglasses on and signed at the bottom of the form.

"What's up with the sunglasses?" Sakuno whispered to Ryoma.

"Does it bother you?" Ryoma was wearing his usual clothes, so it was normal.

"No…but it's really-"

"Different. I know…" Ryoma ended the conversation with a sip of his Ponta. He threw it in the trashcan. Sakuno decided to drop that subject.

"When is my match?" Sakuno asked.

"You are matched up with Yokito Tamaki- the 3rd match."

Minako flashed a grin, "GANBATTE!"

Sakuno chuckled sheepishly and asked, "Where do I change?"

"The locker rooms aren't that far. They're near the restroom facilities. Can't miss it…" Minako answered.

"Minako!" Maki's little legs halted in front of Minako. She was dressed in a strawberry designed shirt with Minako's matching shorts.

"What is it?"

"Okaa-san wants you."

"Hai, hai. I'll be right there." Minako understood. Maki ran off on her own.

"Forgive me. I have to go. My coach wants me."

"Eh? Your mom is your coach?"

"Yup. Jaa." Minako ran to catch up with her sister. Ryoga finished up signing his signature and turned it in.

"Sakuno-chan, do you want to see the 1st match? It'll be good if you study future opponents."

'Hmmm...' Sakuno agreed, "Yeah…why not?"

Ryoma would like to see the first match, but something or someone was unconsciously watching him. He walked away from the two of them for a while.

"Ryoma, would you like to-eh? He's gone!" Ryoga and Sakuno couldn't believe that the white capped boy was gone- AGAIN.

'Argh…where did that kid go now?' Ryoga thought with disbelief.

OOOOOOOOOO

Ryoma walked to the tree that Minako was hiding behind not far from where he left.

'She's a fast runner to see her mom…'

"You called again?" Ryoma muttered.

"…It seems that our match has to be earlier."

"What do you mean?"

"It turned out that I'm busy after the preliminaries. Play a match with me now."

A gust of wind blew furiously, leaving Ryoma unfazed. It looked like Minako didn't want to back down one bit. He swiped out his racket in his bag and pointed it at her.

"I won't be easy on you." Ryoma commented.

Minako placed her racket behind her, "Don't go easy…come with me."

OOOOOOOOOO

Ryoma changed into his comfortable wear in the men locker room and stepped out with his red tennis racket. His Fila hat was already on his head as sun beams bathed his pale skin. Minako had determined eyes flared. She had her game face on.

"Show me a good match…Echizen-kun." Minako went in front of the net on her side while Ryoma did the same.

"Usu. Rough or Smooth?" Ryoma held out his racket upside down.

"Rough." Minako called out. Ryoma spun the racket.

"Rough. Your serve." Ryoma and Minako went to their own side.

Minako was ready to make a serve with a tennis ball in hand. She giggled and commented, "Echizen-kun…can you play…with your insomnia?" Minako served a Bullet serve and it was coming right at Ryoma.

"What?" Ryoma returned the ball with ease, but it hit the net.

Minako chuckled, "I see you're surprised once again." Minako let the ball fly and served. Ryoma returned it to the left.

"Minamoto-san, I don't-"

"Don't talk. Just play." Minako ran up to the net and smashed the ball.

"30-love." Minako called out.

She did her next serve.

"How do you know about my disorder?"

-POK-

"I get information quite easily."

-POK-

"How?!"

-POK-

"30-15."

-POK-

"You seem irritated."

-POK-

"You…"

-POK-

"30-30!"

-POK-

"Don't be." Minako smirked as she hit the ball with the racket. But she accidentally hit a lob.

'Chance.' Ryoma went up to the court with swift speed and smashed it as hard as he could.

"30-40."

Minako gripped the next tennis ball tightly, 'Mou…taunting him isn't the answer.' Minako served but it hit the net.

"Ah, Fault." Minako grunted and took out a tennis ball in her pocket. She served well at that time and Ryoma and Minako were fighting it out. Ball, after ball, after ball. None of them were backing down. Echizen had the lead when he got two games. He was close to get another.

-POK-

"Game Echizen. 3-0." Minako and Ryoma switched courts. It was now time for Ryoma to serve. He switched to his left hand.

'I see...left hander." Minako closed her eyes. Ryoma got into his stance and did his Twist Serve. The ball was coming right at Minako, yet Minako didn't bother to open them. Not until…

'NOW!' Minako flashed her platinum eyes open and she moved her body a bit to the right. The ball was right in the center of the racket and she returned the serve the right.

'The first time I even did the serve.' Ryoma ran to the right side and did a forehand to return it. Minako closed her eyes again and studied the court accurately in her mind. She heard the ball hit and she stepped to the left side, hitting straight with profound speed, leaving Ryoma on the right side of the court glancing at the ball that hit the fence.

"Confused? 15-0." Minako waited for the next serve to come to her. Ryoma scoffed and bounced the ball on the court. He did a regular serve and Minako wasn't that different. She ran up to the net. Ryoma didn't understood one bit why, but he returned it.

"Mada mada dane."

"I don't think so!" Minako closed her eyes and sensed where the ball was going to land. She smirked and did a side step to the left. The ball was right in the center of the racket.

'WHAT?' Ryoma watched the ball go to the ground at his side of the court, making a deep curve.

"30-0." Minako sighed as she opened her eyes, "I thought you would do better, Echizen-kun. That move I did right now- Crescent Ball. Allow me to explain, here's how it works; whenever the ball is around my presence in front of the net, I sense it clearly just by closing my eyes. But when I return it, I make a sharp move with my racket, giving it more speed of the topspin that the ball makes a deep curve you're looking at right now. Looks like a crescent moon, ne?"

"Not bad…" Ryoma once again tried to make his Twist Serve. The ball made a curve and passed Minako.

"30-15."

The Twist Serve was only he could do right now. But when Minako went up to the net again, Ryoma had no choice but to make a lob. Minako gasped and tried running back to the court. She missed.

"30-30."

'Lobs…' Ryoma silently kept that note in mind. He did a regular serve and Minako returned it with a backhand.

'Kuso…lobs…' Minako did not have much training with lobs so it was a struggle. Minako stayed in the center of the court just to be safe. Her eyes widened when Ryoma did a drop volley. Minako ran up to the net to catch it, but missed.

"30-40."

The match continued on. Ryoma got two more games with a total of five and Minako the same. Minako really had to step up her game. Her eyes narrowed, seeing that Ryoma wasn't tired. Looking at his eyes, Ryoma's eyelids got lower and lower.

'So it is true…' Minako flashed a serve. Ryoma saw three balls coming right at him. He gazed down to find the real ball just by the shadow. He rubbed his eye quickly and hit it- Minako was one step ahead of him. She did another Crescent Ball, except it went to the opposite side.

'She changes angles too.' Ryoma's legs started to stumble.

'Not now…' His body was in pure fatigue. Why was it happening right now?! He didn't want to lose this match! He started to push himself to the limit.

Ryoma once again got another game: 6-5. Minako's stamina was cut in half and she started to get a bit exhausted.

'He's still going.' Minako could no longer do much of her Crescent Ball at the moment. Ryoma did his Drive B, Drive A…she was awed by how much he was doing.

'Sugoi…' Minako tried getting another game. But it was finally match point: 30-40. In an attempt to get her act together, she did one more Crescent Ball. Her plan failed when she did another bad lob.

'No!' Minako watched as Ryoma was high up in the air. He twisted and un-twisted his body and slammed the ball down with full force. The Cyclone Smash.

"Game and Match. Echizen: 7-5." Minako whispered. Ryoma panted roughly.

'He reached his limit.' Minako dropped her racket and jumped over the net. Ryoma was about to fall on the court floor. Minako opened up her arms and caught Ryoma safely. Dirt covered her tennis attire and a scratch was on her face. She realized that Ryoma had used a lot of his stamina.

'Echizen-kun.' Minako thought horribly. She never wanted this to happen.

"Y-You're not bad." Ryoma muttered as he opened his eyes.

"You're not bad yourself…forgive me." Minako said with shame. Ryoma ignored that statement and went on with what he wanted to ask. Ryoma sat up from the floor and rubbed dirt off his right cheek.

"Minamoto-san, how do you know about…the disorder?" Minako flinched after hearing the question.

"W-Well…you see." She sighed in defeat. Her fingers brushed her left bang. Ryoma's eyes shot down to what he was now seeing.

"I have insomnia, too." Minako's left eye was hidden for a reason. Under her stunning platinum eye was a dark and ugly circle. Ryoma didn't know what to say. His dream came true: Minamoto Minako had insomnia.

"I played a match to see how you could cope with the disorder. I have problems dealing with mine. I had my eyes on you, having the same physical reactions when your body couldn't take it any longer."

"How did you know I had it?"

Minako thought about it, "…I just know these things. I had insomnia since I was really small. My mom taught me how you can get it or how you can cure it. Somehow, I started to study many people with insomnia in a nearby hospital. The traits they have were the same when I saw you play. I tried hard to play tennis with it, but it was futile and I thought I should give up playing.

A few years when I got a little experienced with tennis, my mom told me about this tournament. I had doubts if I should attend it or not because something like this would happen…but then I heard a lot of interesting things about you. The boy who accomplished so many things in America. When I found out about the insomnia, I wanted to know how you can keep playing."

Minako paused and smiled, "Anyway…thank you."

"For what?"

"This match. This match showed me that you can keep going as long as you have a goal. Reaching the goal in defeating me. Thank you." Minako stood up and held out a helping hand. Ryoma grabbed it gently.

"Minamoto-san…"

"Nee…I'll be all right. I just need my stamina worked on! Ha ha ha." Minako rubbed the back of her head. Ryoma let go of her hand.

"I have a question…why is your right eye not effective?" Minako unconsciously touched the right side of her cheek.

"Oh…really I do have two dark circles. Since I have a bang I can easily cover the left eye and not bother to put cover-ups. So yes, I put make-up to hide the other dark circle on the right. My mom will eventually find out cures. They say teabags can be a real help and plain resting is fine."

Minako put her hand on her hip, "You're lucky, you're okay. You have the Acute Insomnia, while I have the Chronic, a serious one. I could not sleep for a month." Minako lowered her head.

"So please…take care of yourself, Echizen-kun. If you need anything, ask my mother, me, or anyone else that you trust. We'll be happy to help you with the knowledge that we obtained." Minako bowed once again. Ryoma said nothing as he went back to the locker room to change. Minako was glad to have that match with the great Echizen Ryoma.

'But he's cocky and arrogant, hah. Not saying thank you…'

"So…having fun with the Tennis Prince?" Minako's smile faded as she heard the dreaded voice.

"Izumi-san…" Izumi wasn't changed yet as her match was at the end of the preliminary. But she was dressed in a white dress with butterfly sleeves that were thin and soft. She wore black dress shoes, a charm bracelet with a matching locket, and her hair gleamed in the sunlight. On her dark brown hair was the same flower arrangement from yesterday. She smirked seeing Minako in such as state.

"I wish to play Echizen-kun, too, but nah. I have too much to do at the moment, since my father IS the sponsor." Izumi walked over to the tired Minako, who had a furious face on.

"What's the matter? You seem to be upset."

"Leave me alone. I'll be playing you in the court!" Minako shouted with anger.

"Humph, pass the preliminary if you can." Izumi chuckled.

Minako grabbed a hold of her arm, "I WILL. You're playing around with this tournament aren't you? ACT SERIOUS WHEN I'M PLAYING YOU." Izumi frowned and pushed Minako back on the ground.

"I'll act serious when I want to. Like I acted so nice yesterday when I have to be in the stage with insolent girls. Minako, do not touch me with your filthy hands." Izumi walked away but stopped,

"By the way…wash that cover-up. Show your true self someday." Izumi vanished out of sight. Minako still sat down with her knees crossed, so determined to beat the crap out of her.

OOOOOOOOOO

"RYOMA-KUN!" Sakuno shouted with a worried tone. Ryoga popped his head out from a bush and saw the young one coming back, looking so tired than the last time they saw him. He had dirt all over the place.

'I knew I should've washed up.' Ryoma stupidly rolled his eyes.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Sakuno worriedly asked.

"Betsu ni." Ryoma glanced at the ground.

"Answer her question." Ryoga stepped up, "It seemed you got in a hell of a fight."

Ryoma stayed silent.

"Well?"

"Ryoma-"

"I fell." He mumbled.

"You…fell?" Sakuno questioned quizzically.

"I didn't get in a fight, I just fell."

"Ryoma-" Before Sakuno could do anything, Ryoma commented,

"Isn't your match soon?"

"A-Ano…"

THIRD MATCH! WILL YUKIZO SAKURA AND YOKITO TAMAKI ENTER THE PRELIMINARY COURT.

I REPEAT! WILL YUKIZO SAKURA AND YOKITO TAMAKI ENTER THE PRELIMINARY COURT.

"I should be going now. Excuse me." Unable to say anything else, Sakuno passed Ryoma with a slight shove. She was already changed into her attire and her tennis racket was by the bench. She took out a racket, slung the bag in her back and went off to the preliminary court.

"We'll talk about this later. In the meantime…clean yourself up." Ryoga patted his head and had to catch up with Sakuno. Ryoma couldn't help but watch them pass by him. He took Ryoga's command and went back to the restroom.

OOOOOOOOOO

"I hope we have a good match…"

Yokito Tamaki was a tiny bit shorter than Sakuno, but things would reveal more in the court. Sakuno should never underestimate her opponents, just like Ryoma said. Tamaki's attire was a lime green shirt and a light brown skirt. Her appearance wasn't all that perfect, just her short navy blue high ponytail and emerald eyes got many peoples' eyes from the stands.

"Good luck." Tamaki held her racket firmly in her hand, "Rough or Smooth?"

"Call it." Sakuno replied. Ryoga made his way in the court and sat down in the coach bench. He eyed the other side of him who was Tamaki's coach. The coach seemed to have a slight demeanor, pushing her spectacles up and down. The racket was slowing down.

"Rough." Tamaki called out. The racket fell to the ground and it was Smooth. Sakuno was going to serve first.

"THE THIRD PRELIMINARY MATCH IN THE WOMEN TENNIS TOURNAMENT WILL NOW BEGIN! YOKITO TAMAKI VS. YUKIZO SAKURA. YUKIZO TO SERVE."

The crowds' murmurs were now silent as Sakuno began to bounce the ball steadily in the court. Already Sakuno was having trouble breathing and trying to relax.

'Ryoma-kun…he still hasn't come back yet.' It would've been more comfortable for her if the tennis prince was watching. She would be grateful. But since the match had to go on, Sakuno did not want to keep the crowd waiting. So with the tennis ball high in the air, she began her first serve.

It went over the net with great speed, Tamaki blinked and the ball whizzed passed her.

"15-0." The judge announced.

'Not a bad start…' Sakuno did her second serve in the game.

"FAULT."

'Huh?' Sakuno saw that the ball hit the net. Was the first serve a lucky one?

"Oh! Yeah." Sakuno was spacing out. She let the tennis ball fly and it went over the net. Tamaki forehand the ball, her ponytail swishing after one hit. Sakuno did the same thing. She was surprised that Tamaki was already in the net. She smashed the ball hard.

"15-ALL."

'Sugoi…she's fast.' Sakuno gulped with uneasiness. Tamaki went to the end of the court and awaited her opponent to make the serve. The ball went over the net again, but the same thing happened over and over again until the judge made the call.

"Game to Yokito: 1 game-LOVE."

'Let's go, Sakuno.' Ryoga had a stern face when heard some footsteps behind the stands.

"Seems she's out of it. She has that body language that I trained her to not show." Ryoma commented, pointing obviously at her elbows that were way too bent and legs outstretched.

"You already know some of her body flaws? Impressive." Ryoga snickered with amusement. Ryoma shrugged it off.

"She already lost a game point. Try and give some encouragement at least."

"Me? Why don't you?"

"You're the coach."

"30-LOVE!"

"Hm?" Both the brothers watched as Sakuno was trying to get her momentum going. She wanted her fast pace to come back so that she could win-WIN to pass preliminaries. The adrenaline of the court was refreshing she thought to herself. Tamaki started smiling.

'Let's keep the pace going…' Tamaki was going to do her third serve. She let the tennis ball go above her head in the air and she smashed it. The ball whizzed passed Sakuno; she swore she saw light coming from it.

"30-15."

'That serve…'

"Shooting Star…"

"Hm?"

The Shooting Star Serve was a variation to the Bullet Serve- Tamaki's special serve. But despite it's speed, it was like half the speed of the Bullet Serve. Not much, yet a good serve to perform in the court.

"A Shooting Star Serve. Amazing, huh? A serve I worked on for a long time." Tamaki pointed her racket at her, "Be careful, Yukizo-san…"

Tamaki was ready to do another Shooting Star Serve. The ball whizzed with the same amount of speed. Sakuno's focus was turned on and she hit the ball. Apparently, it wasn't enough as it hit the net.

"40-30."

'There's strength in the ball, too.' Sakuno felt the pressure of the ball hitting the racket. Tamaki went to the sidelines and positioned the next serve. The ball hit over the net once again. Sakuno kept her eye on the ball and barely returned it. The ball hit the edge of the net, yet it went to Tamaki's side. Tamaki wasn't fast enough as the ball hit the ground with a thud.

"Game to Yukizo: 1 game-ALL. Change court."

Both girls went to the opposite court. The judge announced that it was Sakuno's turn to serve. Sakuno faithfully commanded and slammed the ball hard. Tamaki missed it.

"15-LOVE."

Sakuno did the same thing again, yet this time Tamaki caught up with the ball. Sakuno did a forehand swing to the left side of the court, sweat sparkling in the sun. Tamaki was not one that gave up easily. She went up to the net and smashed the ball. Unbelievably, Sakuno stopped the ball with a drop volley.

'WHAT?' Tamaki was unable to get the ball in time.

"30-LOVE."

'D-Drop Volley?' The auburn haired girl was surprised herself. The body just reacted and she followed along.

'This girl…she was trained well…' Tamaki scoffed and had an annoyed face. Sakuno breathed in and out, trying to calm herself down. Ryoga and Ryoma awaited for her next move.

-POK-

The ball was in the right side of the court. Tamaki returned it with ease. Sakuno rallied with her for a while. She didn't want to lose this point. She would be close. Tamaki did a lob. Sakuno backed up a little bit but the lob was too high to get.

"30-15."

Sakuno watched as the ball rolled down to the other side of the court. Sakuno took out another ball in her skirt pocket. Tamaki jumped up and down to get her own momentum.

-POK-

-POK-

-POK-

At the last minute, Sakuno timidly went up to the net and smashed the ball as hard as she could. The ball went out.

"30-30."

-POK-

-POK-

-POK-

Tamaki bit her lip and hoped for the best. She did a drop volley when Sakuno was on the sidelines. Sakuno's eyes widened as she quickly went up to the net to get the ball in time. However, she returned it with a lob. Tamaki was ready for it.

-POK-

"30-40."

"She's panicking…" Ryoma muttered, 'Is it too much?'

-POK-

-POK-

-POK-

ooo

_**The idea in the court is to try and calm down to find the solution. If things don't go the way you plan…put yourself in a quiet position. Follow the ball…**_

Sakuno closed her eyes, trying to get herself in a thinking state. Ryoma watched her go to this state.

ooo

'Wait for it…' Ryoma closed his eyes.

'NOW!' Sakuno ran to the left side of the court and Ryoma opened his eyes. She did a strong lob high in the air as Tamaki was in the front of the net. Tamaki made a small gasp and watched the ball hit in.

"DEUCE."

Sakuno bounced the ball, a frown was on her face as she served with complete focus.

"Chibisuke…" Ryoga muttered. Ryoma glanced at him, "when was the last time you saw her this serious?"

Ryoma thought for a minute, "…Not at all."

"GAME TO YUKIZO: 2 GAMES TO 1."

Both the girls had a small water break. Sakuno ambled over, looking exhausted.

"You're doing fine…" Ryoga handed her a white towel. Sakuno gladly accepted it and took off her visor. She drank as much as possible, letting her dry throat freshen up. Sakuno took a look at Ryoma, hoping for some encouragement. Ryoma noticed her gaze, but turned his head away.

"I'll say something when the match is done…" He mumbled. Sakuno lowered her head.

"Of course…thank you." Sakuno put the towel and went back to the court.

"No need to be rash..." Ryoga replied with an irritated tone. Ryoma had nothing else to say.

"YOKITO TO SERVE."

Tamaki's tension was willing to open and scream out any second. She gripped the ball tightly, trying her hardest to calm down. However, it wasn't possible as her serve was a fault.

She got another ball from her pocket and slammed the ball to the right side.

'Shooting Star.' Sakuno backed up and hit the ball with her racket. Tamaki didn't make it in time.

"15- LOVE."

Sakuno felt the momentum rushing through her. She got another point with a smash hit.

"30- LOVE."

Tamaki served and slammed the ball yet again. Sakuno returned it and Tamaki was running to the other side. Hot wind blew furiously on her face- it angered her. She was about to lose. It got through her a little bit as she slammed the ball yet again.

It was out.

"40- LOVE. MATCH POINT!"

'I'm close…demo…' Sakuno saw Tamaki's anger. Tamaki was like a volcano ready to explode. The sun beating down on her, sweat pouring like rain…she couldn't take it. She did a Shooting Star Serve and Sakuno caught up to it. Tamaki rallied with her for a while, willing to make another move. But what she was about to do was not in her plan of action. Sakuno was about to experience grieving pain.

"STAR SHOT!" Tamaki cried. Her face was beating red, using both her hands on the racket. She drew in the air a star symbol with her racket and her eyes opened widely. She slammed the ball, strength overpowering and out of control.

Sakuno was not fast enough.

OOOOOOOOOO

The ball slammed hard on Sakuno's right knee. Sakuno bit her lip with pain. It was like the whole world froze and her body went numb. The pain on her knee was too infuriating. The arm that was holding the racket froze and the object fell out of her hands.

_CLICK CLACK CLICK…_

She went down with a thud, groaning and clutching her knee. It was like feeling a rock hitting the ground-HARD.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Yukizo-san, are you okay?" The judge asked with concern. The audience was murmuring about what had happened. Tamaki's eyes widened and she dropped her racket. She couldn't believe that the heat got to her.

The Shooting Star Shot was one of the hardest moves she had to do. The shot dealt with high speed/accuracy topspin, using both hands on the racket to make it stronger. She knew it was a risk, and it slammed pretty hard like a comet hitting Earth. She had to do advance training sessions with her coach it order to obtain its full potential and muscles.

She never realized the consequences against her opponent. She lowered her head full of guilt.

"First Aid Kit- QUICK."

OOOOOOOOOO

"Itai!" Sakuno was sitting down on the bench, Ryoga taking a look at her knee. Her knee was easily bruised, red and looking swollen. Touching it so many times, Ryoga could not help but watch this girl in pain. Ice was placed on her knee.

Ryoga whispered, "Sakuno, do you want to continue?"

Sakuno lift her head up and whimpered, "I do…"

"Your knee…"

"I'll be okay…" Sakuno replied with uneasiness.

"It's not bleeding... Can you walk?" Ryoga put some medicine on the knee and wrapped a couple of bandages. Ryoma eyed the other opponent, standing there with pure shock.

'Why did I do it…' Tamaki glanced at her coach. The coach wasn't happy one bit. The Shooting Star Shot was a move that everyone forced her to not use during in the tournament unless it was an emergency. However, injuring a person was never on her list.

Sakuno stood up and walked around. Every time she took a step, the knee was bruising a lot. Sakuno wanted to cry out, cry out with pain, but her voice was too audible and soft to hear. Ryoga sighed.

"Should we-"

"NO! PLEASE!" Ryoga gazed into Sakuno's eyes. She knew that Ryoga would forfeit her. Tears poured out of her eyes with distress, "Please no. Please no…" Sakuno pleaded.

"Demo-"

"Ryoga-buchou…" Sakuno wiped her tears away. Her heart was beating rapidly, waiting for Ryoga to make his decision.

"Ryoga…believe in her." Ryoga took a look at Ryoma.

"Chibisuke, her knee-"

"Believe in her." He repeated. Sakuno couldn't believe it. Was Ryoma actually helping her out? She cried out tears of hope. The judge walked over.

"Are you able to continue, Yukizo-san?" He waited for Sakuno's decision. Sakuno patted her knee softly.

'It'll do…'

"I'll keep going. Please let me continue." Sakuno rubbed her tears off her face.

"Are you sure? We don't want to stress the knee even more."

"I want this match…" Sakuno stuck up to herself, arguing about getting back in the match. The judge glanced at her knee.

"If you're sure. But, if it interferes and gets worse, we have no choice but for you to forfeit. Understand?" Sakuno nodded and wobbled slowly back to the court.

"Ryoma…if she gets injured, it'll be your fault, you know that?" Ryoga commented. Ryoma closed his eyes and lowered the bill of his cap.

'Do it…'

OOOOOOOOOO

Sakuno faced her opponent once again. Tamaki walked up to the net.

"You're in a disadvantage to play, Yukizo-san…" Tamaki whispered. Sakuno made a soft smile.

"I can move."

"Barely…" Sakuno shook her head.

"Yokito-san…let's have a good match. Please." Tamaki had a surprised look on her face.

"I want to finish this match." Tamaki realized how much determination this girl had. Tamaki glanced at her coach. The coach didn't help her at all and had a look that said that she wanted to talk to her after. Tamaki didn't know what to do.

"If you're sure, yes. Fight until the end…" Tamaki went back to her spot. Sakuno made a thumbs-up to the judge.

"THE MATCH BETWEEN YUKIZO SAKURA AND YOKITO TAMAKI WILL PRESUME. YUKIZO LEADS 40-LOVE."

"That girl is still in?"

"Impossible. She will lose with that knee injury."

"Yokito-san got her good…"

The audience was dazzled and had doubts in their mind that Sakuno would lose. They all cheered for this match to continue. Sakuno breathed in and out.

'Ryoma…hope this works…' Tamaki hit the ball with a light serve. Sakuno slowly moved her body to get the ball. The knee pain was screaming out. Tamaki noticed her discomfort but didn't say anything. She continued hitting the ball and Sakuno's speed slowed down.

"40-15."

Sakuno screamed, her knee injury was too much that she couldn't make it to the ball in time. Tamaki closed her eyes, never wanting to look at Sakuno with pain and torture. She smashed the ball to the left side.

"40-30."

'Yukizo-san…' Tamaki wiped sweat off her forehead. She bounced the ball once again and did a Shooting Star Serve. Sakuno bit her lip and had to run! She returned it back and Tamaki did the same. Tamaki trembled with her racket, not knowing what to do: Sakura made this choice to continue. With a blink of an eye, Sakuno shocked the audience with her footwork. She ran slowly in the center of the court and used her good knee to jump.

'Split Step.'

"AH!" Sakuno cried out, yet smashed the ball down to the court. The audience was speechless. Tamaki was astonished. Sakuno did her final move and fell down.

"GAME AND MATCH: YUKIZO: 3-1. YUKIZO SAKURA MAY MOVE ON."

"Chibisuke…when did you teach her that?!" 

"...Not long ago."

* * *

A/N: Hope this was good... 

**!HaruCherry!**


	10. Confrontation

Secret Exchange

Chapter 10: Confrontation

OOOOOOOOOO

"GAME AND MATCH! YUKIZO: 3 games to 1! END OF PRELIMINARY MATCH NUMBER THREE."

The words echoed through Sakuno's ears. Had she really… won? The sounds of clapping got her attention and she saw the audience cheering at her wonderful match. Sakuno could only gape at how her match had been. It was unbelievable. The Split Step was a move that she would never forget…

OoOoOo

_"Ryuzaki."_

_'Ryoma-kun?' Sakuno stopped rallying the ball and waited for Ryoma to speak._

_"Would you like to learn a move?'_

_"Huh?" Sakuno blinked in surprise._

_"Split Step…"_

_Sakuno dropped her racket, "S-Split Step?!"_

_Ryoma's face was indifferent, "You are close on mastering some of the basics, but there's still more for you to learn from me.'"_

_Sakuno timidly picked up the racket, "W-What? Ryoma-"_

_"I'm training you remember?"_

_Sakuno sighed, did he have to be so specific?_

_"I-If it isn't hard…"_

_"It won't be, unless you follow my instructions…_

_OOOOOOOOOO_

_Sakuno, for the past few weeks, worked on the original Split Step from Ryoma. Ryoma performed it to give Sakuno an example. Soon, he asked her to give it a try. Her first try was definitely not flawless as she hesitantly tripped doing the step. He kept an eye on how she was performing. She still wasn't good enough yet, but it would work out sooner or later. Once she had gotten more effort, the tennis prince practiced with her. He would serve the tennis balls while she performed the step. _

_Ryoma served a slow ball. Sakuno was behind the baseline, so it took a few seconds for the ball to come to her. She returned the neon green ball clumsily and saw Ryoma performing the Split Step technique. It was a high level step and he returned it hastily. She caught the ball._

_He explained, "You land both on your feet, thus maintaining good balance and reacting more to the opponent's shots. With something like this, you are able to efficiently change directions when you need to." He jumped a few times, "Timing is key. You have a choice when and where to do the Split Step. Be smart about it."_

_OoOoOo_

Sakuno groaned roughly and stood up, covering her knee with her hand. She slowly walked up to the net to see Tamaki doing the same.

"Wonderful match, Yukizo-san. Please play a match with me again some other time." Tamaki glanced down, "A-Are you okay? I'm really sorry."

Sakuno looked down at her knee, "I'll be fine. I need some ice that's all…"

Both of the girls shook hands. Everyone in the audience was thrilled to see the resolution of the match. Sakuno was happy. She won her first preliminary match. It felt good to win inside, so she didn't feel troubled just because of her knee.

"Tamaki…"

Tamaki heard her coach and turned to him, "We should be going now."

"Okay…sayonara. Thanks again." Tamaki bowed and her coach shook hands with Ryoga.

"Well played for your student."

"Arigatou." Ryoga nodded in thanks.

Tamaki and her coach left the court. The fourth match would start in about half an hour because of the break. This match would consist Minako and her opponent. Sakuno couldn't wait. In the meantime, Ryoga helped her out of the court, while Ryoma followed behind.

OOOOOOOOOO

Sakuno sat down on the bench waiting for ice and another first aid kit to arrive from Ryoga. She gently laid her leg with the swollen knee down on the bench, relaxing and making herself comfortable. Ryoma leaned against a light post, drinking another can of Ponta he got from a vending machine. He carried another can and went over to Sakuno, giving it to her.

"Thank you." Sakuno accepted the can, opening the beverage. The bubbles whizzed inside as she drank its contents.

"You did well…" he commented.

Sakuno licked her lips with satisfaction, "The Split Step…how was it?"

Ryoma stiffened and gave a rather dull expression, "You didn't do it accurately because of your knee. Either way you did the step."

As usual, Ryoma had to take the bad side of all things. Sakuno let it slip by.

"Eh…your training should be put on hold. Don't overdue it." Ryoga finally came back and went down on his knees. He placed the first aid kit on the grass, holding a pack of ice in his hand. He put it on top of Sakuno's knee, Sakuno winced as it froze her wound.

"Oi, Ryoma. Can you take care of it? I have to do something real fast." He stood up once he was done putting the ice on her.

'WHAT?!' Sakuno didn't want Ryoga to leave her all alone like this! Especially if Ryoma was the one taking care of her injury. She made a face at Ryoga, who ignored it completely.

"Where do you have to go?" Ryoma asked boredly.

Ryoga walked off, "Just coach stuff. It won't be long."

Once the tall figure disappeared out of their sight, Ryoma opened up the kit.

Sakuno mumbled, "A-Ano, Ryoma-kun. I can do it myself."

Ryoma glared at her. Sakuno was a bit intimidated.

"U-Um…"

"Just hold the ice on your knee for a few minutes. I'm only looking through." He took out white bandages and ointment. Sakuno gulped nervously.

'Is he…really?'

Fifteen minutes passed and Ryoma pointed at the ice. Sakuno grabbed hold of it. The chilling ice was freezing her pale hand as she took it off her knee. The knee's swelling seemed to have went down.

'Great.' She saw the bandages unraveled from Ryoma, 'Will…will he…?' Sakuno blushed a bright red.

"Bend your knee a little bit." Ryoma commanded. Sakuno closed her eyes as she slightly bent the knee, waiting for something to happen. Ryoma was unaware of how she was reacting at the moment; talk about dense. He took out a cotton swab and put the ointment on top. The sticky-like substance rubbed gently on Sakuno's knee. Sakuno mentally wanted to scream with embarrassment.

'It's just treatment…' Just then, she felt one strong hand holding the knee in place. Ryoma was now wrapping the bandages on the knee. He had no idea why Ryoga left him to do a job like this. Sakuno moved with discomfort.

"You all right?" he asked.

Sakuno squeaked out, "H-Hai!"

Ryoma continued on. Sakuno could not bare the silence, as she wasn't focusing on the moment.

"A-Are you doing all right, Ryoma-kun?"

Ryoma was silent as usual. He tied a knot on the bandage. Sakuno watched Ryoma put all the supplies in the box. He opened his tennis bag and found what he wanted.

"The dream log." Sakuno whispered to herself. The journal was in his hands. Ryoma gestured her to take it. The young girl opened the notebook and read.

'Well…he is improving a little. Waking up at four…' She skimmed through, 'That's good.'

Sakuno skimmed through the log. She was reading through all of the dreams Ryoma had. She was interested for some reason.

'Ryoma-kun, your dreams are so…'

"Strange?"

"Eh?" Sakuno questioned. Ryoma sat down next to her as she now sat up on the bench.

"Everyday, tennis dreams are in my head."

"Oh…" Sakuno thought about more to say, "Have you been sleeping earlier or later now?"

"Later."

"Does your family know?"

"I guess Ryoga, but my parents barely ask."

Sakuno gave him a skeptical look, "Shouldn't they know more about your sleeping schedule?"

"They should, since Ryoga said what the doctor told him. They barely say anything and sleeping pills don't always help."

Sakuno didn't know what to say.

"If it gets serious, they'll force me to see the physician again."

"Sou ka…" Sakuno lowered her eyes. Ryoma had to get this out of his system.

"I played a match with Minamoto-san."

"Huh? When?" Sakuno was surprised.

"When I went missing. She asked for a match."

"What does that have to do with-"

"She knows about my insomnia."

Sakuno's eyes widened, "You played a match with her even though she knew?"

"There's something you should know about her though." Ryoma rubbed his eye sleepily, "Minamoto-san has-"

_"WILL MINAMOTO MINAKO AND TANAKA UMEKI PLEASE ENTER THE PRELIMINARY COURT. REPEAT: WILL MINAMOTO MINAKO AND TANAKA UMEKI PLEASE ENTER THE PRELIMINARY COURT!"_

Because of the speaker interrupting him, Ryoma decided it wasn't important right now. He stood up and brushed imaginary dust from his pants.

"Do you want to watch?" he asked. Sakuno agreed, she really did want to see Minako's match. She had trouble getting up on her feet in the process, but was amazed when Ryoma offered his hand. Sakuno then remembered that she was still holding the log, and assumed that Ryoma wanted it back. Apparently it was the case when Ryoma grabbed the notebook out of her hands.

"We should get going." Ryoma pulled her up slowly by hand, "I'm sure you can walk."

Sakuno, startled after the action, replied, "Yeah…" The two of them ambled over to the preliminary bleachers. Ryoga would find out sooner or later where they would be, so there was no need to worry. Ryoma and Sakuno watched the beginning of the match. Ryoma spotted the person that he really wanted to see; Minako's sister and mother.

The mother resembled Minako a whole lot, her sky blue hair brushing past her shoulders. She wore a tennis attire similar to Minako, except it was a jacket with a crescent moon. Platinum colored eyes gazed intently, watching her daughter play the match. The opponent wasn't much, as Minako dominated the game after 5 minutes. Tanaka Umeki got the first two first games after another 7 minutes, but Minako stepped her game up. Maki happily cheered on for her older sister, hoping that she would win this match.

"MINAKO-NEE-CHAN!!! GO! GO! GO!!!" Upon hearing that the loud and obnoxious cheer, Minako blushed a bright red, embarrassed, yet she couldn't help smiling at the little girl for her encouragement.

"Is Minako-chan good?" Sakuno asked with wonderment.

Ryoma shrugged his shoulders, "She's okay."

"AH!" Minako shouted her serve. The opponent, Umeki, didn't return it.

"Game Minamoto: 2 games- ALL. TIEBREAK!"

'Already?' Sakuno never realized that Minako could get games that quickly.

Umeki smirked, "Nee, you caught up. But this match is mine!" Umeki served the ball quickly and Minako stayed calm as she returned the serve.

"Return Ace." Ryoma commented.

"1-LOVE. Minamoto lead."

Umeki served another one, the tennis ball heading right at Minako. Minako hit the ball precisely in the center of the racket; the 'pok' sound echoed through her ears.

'It's the right time.' Umeki ran to the left side to retrieve the ball, returning it to the other side of the court. Minako didn't let it stop.

'Tanaka-san's stamina is low…' Minako observed Umeki's tiredness and her legs moving slowly during the match, 'Hah, this is a good match.' Minako smashed the ball in the court.

"2-LOVE."

Tanaka Umeki was fifteen years old, having three years of tennis experience. She had her dark hair with red streaks tied up in a high ponytail, amber eyes watching the ball in every move. She breathed heavily, beating herself up for not doing much stamina training. Her priority was winning.

"I WON'T LOSE!" she called out loud.

"Then play a match!" Minako served the ball in a different way. She arched her back, letting the ball fly up, and served.

'Top Spin Serve.' Umeki stepped backwards and hit the ball. Minako rallied with her for a while until she was ready for her move. When the ball was coming at her, she lowered her arm with the racket and gave the ball more spin. The ball was returned and quickly on the ground, curving with a tiny bounce.

"3-LOVE."

"Crescent Ball." Ryoma whispered.

Sakuno was oddly confused, "Crescent Ball?"

"A move she used during our match." Ryoma felt his pocket vibrating. Ryoma flipped his cell phone and checked the caller I.D.

'Oishi-senpai?' Tentatively, he pressed the button to receive the call.

"Eto…moshi moshi." Ryoma greeted in an awkward way, covering the speaker so that the background noise would block.

"Echizen, the team is having a meeting. Sorry if it is last minute, but everyone is assembling at the tennis courts right now. Come." Oishi notified him. The background sounds Ryoma heard were Momoshiro and Kaidoh arguing about who could do the most pushups.

"Oishi-senpai, I can't right now."

"What? Why is that?"

Ryoma gritted his teeth. He would definitely get in trouble if the assistant captain found out he was lying. He had no choice as he was really far away from the school.

"Oishi-senpai, I'm doing errands for my mom."

Some excuse.

"Echizen, this meeting is important!"

"…"

"Echizen? Hello?"

Ryoma muttered, "Gomen."

_CLICK_

Ryoma stuffed his cell phone into his pocket.

"Who was it?" Sakuno wondered.

"Oishi-senpai."

"EH? What did he say?"

"…He just said that there was a meeting today…"

OOOOOOOOOO

"Oishi, is Ochibi-chan coming?" Kikumaru asked his partner.

"I-Iie."

"WHAT? WHY?!"

"Errands…" Oishi replied.

"Why would he choose to do errands over a tennis meeting? That's unlikely of him." Momo mentioned. Fuji and Inui leaned against a tennis fence with tennis rackets at hand.

"Inui…" Fuji began.

"Chances are…" Inui continued.

"…He's avoiding, ne? Ha ha, how amusing." Fuji replied, "Tezuka wouldn't like it one bit." Proving his point, Fuji pointed at Oishi, who was telling the coach of Seigaku that Ryoma wouldn't attend the meeting. Tezuka didn't approve about it at all.

"This meeting..."

"Shall we presume anyway?" Oishi suggested.

"Iie. He needs to hear about this. Meeting postponed. It'll be tomorrow for sure, everyone."

Everyone moaned and groaned with annoyance.

"Leave or run laps!"

Everyone rushed out of the gates in a flash.

OOOOOOOOOO

"So you hung up on him? That's the fukou-buchou, Ryoma!"

"GAME AND MATCH: MINAMOTO: 3 GAMES TO 2. END OF PRELIMINARY MATCH NUMBER FOUR."

Minako sighed with accomplishment, 'Yes…' She saw Umeki walking up to the net. She did the same thing and shook hands.

"Nice match. I'm hoping to have a rematch, ya know!" Umeki puffed her cheeks.

Minako chuckled, "Yup. Call a match hen you need one." Umeki left the court with her coach.

"MINAKO-NEE-CHAN!!!" Maki jumped with glee and embraced her sister tightly. Her strawberry designed dress brushed passed her knees when a breeze blew in a gusty manner.

"Maki." Minako wagged her finger, "Nee, don't enter the court when a match is still going."

"BUT THE MATCH IS OVER!" Maki pointed at the other side of the court, not seeing anyone.

"Hee hee, so it is. I just wanted to see if you were paying attention."

Maki pouted, "Of course I was."

"It's just prelims. It'll get tougher." Minako replied.

"It sure will," Minamoto-sensei responded. Maki held Minako's hand as they both went to their mother, "Don't get cocky about this."

"Hai." Minako promised.

"The Crescent Ball needs more polishing, so we will do some exercises during the week."

'Great…more work.' Minako thought unhappily. Minako gazed at the bleachers and saw Ryoma and Sakuno. She waved hello. Sakuno did a thumbs-up while Ryoma was aloof. Minako grabbed a towel and ran up to where they were sitting.

"Nice match."

"Arigatou," Minako pointed at Sakuno's knee, "Daijoubu? I saw what happened…"

"A bruise that's all. My coach said to take it easy until the next match ups. It's tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, then the final rounds will be two weeks away."

"Hontou?!" Sakuno never knew it would take this long.

"There are lots of girls here, ne? We have to beat them one by one if we want to go to the finals."

"How many are there?"

"…30 teenage girls, including the two of us, which intentionally means 32. Finals start when there are 8 girls standing." Minako put her hands on her hips, her towel dangling behind her neck, "This will definitely be a LONG tournament." She sighed unpleasantly.

'I thought this would be a small tournament.' Sakuno sweat dropped, 'Mou…skimming on the flier doesn't help.'

"Sakura-chan, I wish to play a match during this tournament." Minako smirked. Sakuno didn't know what to say, "I'm more of a challenger, and knowing that you are being trained by Echizen-san, you should be REALLY GOOD!"

"Me?" Sakuno blushed, "You lie."

"Am I? You're lucky to be training with him though!" Minako cheerfully retorted back, hoping to keep this conversation going on for a while. Sakuno was falling right in her trap.

'The only reason I train with him is so that he had something to exchange…' Sakuno thought unhappily. She turned her head toward Ryoma, who was not paying attention to them, but only to the next match below them. So far in this court, there had only been four matches, making the current match right now the fifth. There were two courts: COURT A and B, each having eight matches between two people so that the rounds would be done quicker. The court they were currently in right know was Court A.

According to the listings he read earlier, Ryoma spotted the name Kato Izumi. She was in Court B. It was not that Ryoma didn't want to see her match, but wanting to get information about fierce competitors getting in the way for Sakuno's success.

Whoa…since when did he care? He stopped thinking for a while when a tennis player was a winner.

"COURT B IS DONE WITH THEIR MATCHES! KATO IZUMI IS THE VICTOR. GO TO COURT A FOR THE REMAINING MATCHES." A judge from another area called out.

'More people.' Ryoma groaned.

OOOOOOOOOO

As much as the tennis preliminaries part one were over, Ryoma couldn't help but feel grumpy at home. Everyone had departed home after that stressing and tired day. Ryoga, Sakuno, and Ryoma took the train home. After the last stop at the station, they took the bus and Sakuno came home safely and just enough time to hide her things away from Sumire.

When the brothers came home, Ryoma went straight to his room and laid down in bed. Karupin's tail swished back and forth, gazing at his master that came in the room. Ryoma gazed up at the ceiling lazily. Why did he ignore his senpai on the phone? He did not know. Boy, was he in for it. Today he did not need to take the pills. He was sure he could handle himself for one night…

OOOOOOOOOO

…or so he thought. Ryoma opened his eyes and took a look at the clock. He pounded his head with the pillow.

**3:30 AM.**

This was pathetic, he thought. Ryoma ruffled under his pillow to find the Dream Log. He opened it and began to write down the time. Patterns like this should be mentioned to Sakuno the next time they would meet. He closed his eyes thoughtfully. He forgot to mention why Sakuno wasn't able to say anything about his disorder, other than his family and herself.

'I don't want to be treated differently…' He placed the pen on top of his pillow and touched his forehead. Some lame excuse. He was always treated differently, yet he didn't wanted to be treated differently more. The silence inside the room couldn't make him fall asleep.

'Che!' Worrying about everything wouldn't do anything. He put his worries aside and put the Dream Log under the pillow. He hated being like this. He wondered how hard it was for Minamoto-san going through a month. He never knew that this kind of girl would be in the tournament. He covered himself with his sheets and tried to fall back asleep.

OOOOOOOOOO

RING…RING…RING

He rubbed his eye in a sleepy manner. His cell phone was ringing, "Moshi moshi?"

"Echizen."

"B-Buchou?" Upon hearing the stoic captain's voice, Ryoma gave full attention to the speaker.

"There's a meeting today. Don't avoid this one."

"Buchou-"

"We cancelled yesterday's meeting because you wouldn't attend. That is unacceptable. I won't tolerate it. Today Echizen, at 1 in the afternoon. You must come."

Ryoma lowered his voice, "Demo-"

"Come."

_CLICK_

Ryoma placed his phone on the table, 'Now what?'

OOOOOOOOOO

A knock pounded in the guestroom.

"What is it?"

The door opened and Ryoma came inside the room, "A-Ano…"

"Yes?"

"Do you mind being with Ryuzaki today at the tournament?"

"I'm the coach. I'm supposed to be with her, right?"

"I won't be there."

Ryoga put down a magazine he was currently reading, "What do you mean you won't be there?"

"…I avoided a tennis meeting yesterday. They postponed it."

"…Is it really important?"

"Yeah…"

OOOOOOOOOO

"Konichiwa-" Sakuno was very cheerful in the morning, a smile plastered as she went inside the van. However, neither of the brothers replied back except for Ryoga who muttered. The atmosphere inside the van was awkward. She fumbled with her seat belt and still the silence was unbearable.

'Did something happen?' Sakuno questioned herself.

"Sakuno-chan," Ryoga began in a monotone voice, "Ryoma won't attend today with you."

"Huh?" Sakuno glanced at the younger boy, who had his face well hidden beneath his cap.

"Sorry. The team called me. There's something I have to attend."

"Oh."

To keep the conversation going Ryoga continued, "I'll be dropping him off at Seigaku. I'll be with you, Sakuno-chan."

"Arigatou…" Sensing that Ryoma didn't really want to meet up with the team, Sakuno wanted to convince him to watch the tournament like he always did, but stifled her thoughts.

OOOOOOOOOO

Stopping at the curb of the school, Ryoma opened the passenger door and slammed it shut. He slung his tennis bag behind him, walking up to the front of the school.

"Ryuzaki…" He called behind him.

Sakuno lowered her window in the van, "What is it?"

"…Good luck. Don't lose." He turned his back and went forward. Sakuno flustered a tint of pink, speechless of what to say. She wanted to say something, opening her mouth a tiny bit, yet nothing came out as Ryoma disappeared in the school.

"Shouldn't you say thank you to him?" Ryoga implied, "This might be the only encouragement you get from him out loud, that little idiot."

Sakuno glanced at Ryoga and made a smile. Once the van was moving to another direction of the school, Sakuno poked her head out of the window, "Ryoma-kun! Arigatou!"

OOOOOOOOOO

Ryoma sneezed. Boy were allergies getting in the way of his tennis play. He could've sworn he heard something, it might've been the wind talking.

"HOI!"

Now _that _was not the wind for sure! A shout was heard from the distance.

'Please don't tell me that's-' Before Ryoma knew it, two arms cut off his oxygen.

"IT'S BEEN SO LONG, OCHIBI-CHAN! WHY MUST YOU AVOID YOUR SENPAI, HMM?"

"K-Kikumaru-senpai…" More bad luck came his way as Momo walked over to the two of them.

"Echizen. Finally you're cooperative for once!" Eiji let go of the troubling boy and Momo took over his place by dangling an arm on Ryoma's shoulder, "Tezuka-buchou's gonna have your head when he sees you. It'll be all bad!"

Momo was right. Tezuka would definitely not be happy for skipping a meeting, but come on! Tennis meetings on the weekends? That was not productive in his schedule.

"Come, come! The others are waiting." The two older boys pushed Ryoma forward to the tennis courts.

"S-Senpai, what is all this about?" He asked as both of them continued to drag him.

Eiji had a curious look on his face, "Actually, we don't know for sure. Mou, buchou's always anti-social!"

"Well, we'll find out soon enough!" Momo replied with a grin.

'Che…'

OOOOOOOOOO

"You're here." Ryoma sat down on a bench. This type of meeting didn't really consist a table and a chair. It mostly dealt with outside purposes. A tennis ball was in the palm of Tezuka's hand.

"Fuji." Tezuka called the tensai over to approach Ryoma. With a dazed look on his face, Ryoma didn't knew for sure if this would be a meeting or not.

"Ah, Echizen." Fuji flashed one of his trademark smiles unto the boy, "How have you been doing lately?"

"…I'm fine."

"Saa, that's good." Tezuka let Fuji hold the ball, "Would you like to play a match against me?"

'A match?'

"Is there a reason for a match, Fuji-senpai?"

Fuji glanced at Tezuka. Nothing from him as expected, "It will be fun. I promise you."

Ryoma rubbed the back of his head, not having much of a choice, "If you say so…"

Fuji smiled evilly, 'According to plan. Ne, Inui?' Behind the dark green tennis gates was Inui, writing away some good data.

Ryoma went inside the clubhouse to get changed. As the door closed with a bang, Tezuka walked towards Fuji in a slow pace. Both of them stood side by side, Fuji checking his racket strings as Tezuka felt the cold breeze touch his skin.

"Fuji, I trust you on this one." Fuji smiled in return. Tezuka always knew that Fuji was very good at getting information from people.

"No problem." Fuji recollected his thoughts one time on a particular day.

OoOoOoOo

_"Tezuka, have you been keeping an eye on Echizen?"_

_Tezuka heard the sudden voice and heard that it was Fuji coming his way in the clubhouse. _

_"Aa." _

_"Sou ka? I know what's happening to him." Tezuka turned around to look at him, "Inui knows about him, too."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Hmm? I thought I was clear, Tezuka. I know what's wrong with him. You've noticed, haven't you?" _

_"Fuji-"_

_"I won't say it out loud. Make up a fake meeting and let him come play a match with me. I'll reveal it during the match." _

"_Fuji!"_

"_Ha ha, bye."_

_It would've been so easier if Fuji said it right at his face, but he did have a point. Ryoma should have a say about it, too. Tezuka watched the tensai pack up his things and went off home. _

_OoOoOoOo_

"Ready?" Fuji heard footsteps behind him and it was Ryoma in his tennis attire.

"Fuji-senpai, what is this all about?" Ryoma went inside Court A first, Fuji trailing behind.

"Echizen, your serve, why don't you?" Fuji threw him the ball he was holding to Ryoma, paying no heed of the question .

"Shouldn't we do the meeting first, though?" Ryoma began his serve.

"Actually, I would like to discuss a different matter, Echizen. Have you been getting enough sleep?"

'What?' Ryoma served the ball but it hit the net. The ball making a thud once it hit the court.

'Got'cha…' Fuji's eyes were planted right at Ryoma.

'That face…' That sadistic face was staring right at him. What did he want? He relaxed himself by not tensing his shoulders so much and began the serve once again. It was over the net and Fuji returned it back.

"Did something happen in the past couple of weeks? Explain."

"Yadda." Echizen scored a point.

"15-LOVE."

"So you say something happened? I'm surprised. You seem to look like your usual self."

"I am myself." Ryoma served a Twist Serve right at him. Fuji returned it with a forehand swing to the left. Ryoma went to the left side of the court and returned it. Fuji went to the center of the court and returned it with no difficulty.

Both of them rallied until Fuji replied, "You sure you're yourself? Your speed is a bit jumbled, don't you think?" Fuji found an opening in the far right and shot the ball in the open space.

"15-ALL." The Regulars watched as the match between Fuji and Ryoma continued.

"Oishi, is this match really necessary?" Eiji questioned strangely. Oishi shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess we'll see why it is. We haven't really seen Echizen play in a while."

"That's true…" Kawamura commented.

"Echizen's play is different." Everyone turned to Inui, "According to my calculations, Echizen's speed lowered by three percent. Not much though."

"His speed?" Momo asked, "Echizen's speed never fails him! It looks the same."

"That may be so. But for the people who used to challenge him before, like Fuji…"

"…he's checking Echizen's stats?" Kaidoh asked.

"Hai. It looks like Fuji is experiencing some changes." Inui fumbled inside his cerulean blue pant pocket and took out a tape recorder. He gave a signal to Fuji. When Ryoma was starting to make a serve, Fuji glanced at Inui. He smirked and nodded his head.

"Is there something you would like to share?"

"EH?!" Ryoma hit the ball once more. Fuji simply returned the ball at a fast pace.

"Did I say too much?"

Ryoma scoffed, "Betsu ni."

"Oh? Well it seems you are making a big deal about 'it'." Fuji got into a position when the ball was coming towards him.

"There it is! Tsubame Gaeshi." The ball dipped toward the ground without a bounce and passed Ryoma swiftly.

"15-30."

'Kuso…' Ryoma put the racket behind his shoulder, patting it a bit too roughly.

…_**take care of yourself. You have been working too hard just for all this.**_

Inui hit the 'play' button in the tape recorder. The sentence echoed in Ryoma's ears.

'Where did I hear that before?'

"Inui-"

_**Please get some more sleep, Ryoma-kun! Your insomnia WILL heal!**_

'Ryuzaki…' Ryoma clenched his fists. The tape recorder suddenly stopped with a click, 'She said that when we were going home after the gathering.'

"I-Insomnia?" Ryoma turned around to see Oishi in his mother mode.

"Was that Ryuzaki-chan's voice? What on earth is she doing with you, Echizen, eh?" Momo snickered with pleasure and nudged Eiji's shoulder.

"Hoi! You don't think?"

"Ah, youth! Youth is hooking up very nicely these days, " Eiji grinned widely.

"This kind of sleeping problem will not get better if it is not taken care of. You know that, don't you?" Inui replied. Ryoma tilted his head to the side, avoiding everyone's gaze.

"Who said I had it?" Ryoma suddenly said.

"The tape recorder-"

"You can't always assume what a tape recorder records. It can record lies and rumors. I do not have a problem, senpai."

"Are you the one lying, Echizen?" Fuji asked with a doubtful look, "Because it seems to me that Inui and I have all the information we need." The honey-brown haired boy went back to the baseline to receive Ryoma's next serve. The score was Fuji's lead of 15-30.

-POK-

"Do you wish to say something about this?"

-POK-

"Why should I? What you just recorded was a lie."

-POK-

"Really?"

-POK-

"Do you think I'm lying, senpai?"

-POK-

"I may not have that much evidence, Echizen, but I know for sure you seem distracted."

-POK-

"I'm not!"

-POK-

"30- ALL."

-POK-

Fuji sighed, 'This is taking too long.'

-POK-

"I do not have a sleeping disorder, senpai."

-POK-

"I didn't say you did. And by the way...there is no meeting."

-POK-

"…" Ryoma hit a lob high in the air and Fuji knew that Ryoma's time was up. He smashed it down on the opposite court.

-POK-

Ryoma couldn't control himself as he went down to his knees, surprising everyone at the court, 'Why am I this tired already?'

'Score…' Fuji thought with delight, 'Task complete.'

"What is up with this insomnia? Echizen couldn't have-" Eiji whispered to Oishi. Oishi turned to Tezuka for an answer or a reply, but none came out of from the captain.

"I suggest we stop here for now. " Fuji walked over to help Ryoma up. Ryoma swatted it away, protesting to keep this match going.

"Echizen," Tezuka called from the fence, "you're done."

Angry that Tezuka stopped him, Ryoma shrugged it off roughly and decided that time was definitely up for him. He didn't get enough sleep.

"Why keep a secret from us?" Fuji whispered in his ear. Ryoma perked up and didn't bother to reply. He ignored all the gazes he was getting and went off to the clubhouse to change.

"Fuji." Tezuka called him over, "Well done."

Fuji wiped the sweat off his forehead and nodded. Inui opened to the back of his notebook and took out three photos to give to Tezuka. He sealed it in an envelope and would remember to give it to him soon.

"Echizen…has a disorder? How can it be?" Momo replied with an unbelievable face.

Inui tipped his spectacles up and down, "It surprised me, too, when I found out myself. I thought I was doing a good job mixing up those menus for you guys."

"So…now what?" Kaidoh asked gruffly.

Kawamura was about to say something when Tezuka interrupted him, "We keep an eye on him. At all costs. We'll push him harder if we have to."

"Tezuka, are you sure you know what you're doing?" Oishi and Kawamura was flabbergasted of the decision Tezuka made.

"Oishi, I'm not letting him back down. He still is getting all the training we give him." As much as Tezuka didn't like to say it, he had to. He knew how to take care of his players. He would know when time was up for them when they have difficulty. For Ryoma, eyes must glance every once in a while for the Regulars.

"Are you serious, buchou?!" Momo interrupted the conversation, "If it's hardcore for him, you should at least give him a break."

Tezuka rubbed his temples for having an aggravating headache, "Quiet. Momoshiro, 20 laps, " He directed to him.

"What? Buchou-"

"40 laps. I'll tell Echizen when he'll have a break. In the meantime, focus on tennis. Minna, don't let this get to your heads."

Momo turned his head away and glanced at the clubhouse where Ryoma was. He hoped things would clear up soon. Tezuka would be having a talk with him in a little bit once Ryoma got back. It was a bit awkward knowing that Tezuka was giving all the orders.

He started his laps immediately.

OOOOOOOOOO

Inside the club room, Ryoma sat down in the bench silently, wondering what he was going to do. He was caught, caught like a caged bird willing to flybut couldn't. He took off his hat and threw it on the floor with exasperation. Sweat dripped down the side of his head as he took a white towel and rubbed it all away.

'Do they know what I'm doing with Ryuzaki? Is it clear to them?' He thought bewildered. Fuji and Inui didn't mention much about Ryuzaki, which was strange since Ryuzaki was the one that blabbed everything out of no where. Ryuzaki was his main problem.

Ryuzaki was ALWAYS getting in the way of everything! Momo-senpai and Eiji-senpai made it such a big deal and he was always clueless to what was going on.

Ryuzaki, **Ryuzaki**, **Ryuzaki**. How he hated her name right now.

'It's her fault…' Ryoma stood up and picked up his Fila hat from the ground. He adjusted his hat in his head so that the rim of the hat shadowed his eyes.

'I won't forgive her…'

OOOOOOOOOO

"Fuji, Inui." Tezuka called both of them as he settled himself down in a bench. Momo was still running his laps and everyone else played a mock match with each other.

"What is it, Tezuka?"

"Do you know the reason why Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter was with Echizen?" Fuji and Inui looked at each other, hoping that one of them knew the answer. Sadly, there was none.

"Gomen, Tezuka. However," Inui went through his notebook, "We hid and went along to where they went. It looked like a special occasion of some sort."

"Occasion?"

"Yes…more like a _tournament _occasion." The club door opened with a bang. Tezuka, Fuji and Inui saw Ryoma turning back to the front gates.

"Well, let's leave him alone, ne? He's had enough for today." Fuji suggested.

The sounds of tennis balls hitting the ground echoed as Ryoma left the school, not caring whether or not he had permission. Tezuka watched the boy vanish before his eyes. He guessed that the talk today wouldn't change a thing.

Ryoma went to the private court on his own.

* * *

**-!Haru Cherry!**


	11. Exchange: Broken and Reborn

Secret Exchange

Chapter 11: Exchange: Broken and Reborn

OOOOOOOOOO

"You played a good match." Sakuno sighed in relief whenthe match was finally over. She overcame a victory; it felt like a miracle from a shooting star. Watching Minako's match earlier gave her a bit of encouragement. Earlier, she was panicking without Ryoma's presence. It wasn't the same without him by her side and she was wondering what would have happened if she was defeated. Ryoma would probably scold her. For Minako, she was worried about Sakuno since her match was before hers and she wasn't in tip top shape. Minako had to show her best performance to get her spirit up, and it did. Minako would be in the final rounds.

"Thank you, Ryoga-buchou." Sakuno shook hands with her opponent that lost the match. The opponent went out of the court as she did the same. While walking back to take a break, Sakuno was quiet the whole time during the ride there and while playing her match. She didn't know why. All that ease and stress disappeared when she was in the court. Shehad imagined that Ryoma was there so that might've been the case. Speaking of Ryoma, she wondered how he was doing without her.

She rubbed her head in irritation;why was she thinking about that at a time like this? Ryoga noticed her frustration and laughed.

"Different, huh?"

"EH? W-What was that?" Sakuno opened her eyes, glancing at the familiar feline eyes.

"You'll probably get used to it. Since he's quiet most of the time, you**'**ll or will barely notice him."

"You're wrong!" Ryoga was taken back by the outburst. Sakuno played with her fingers as she was a bit embarrassed about what she had just said.

"I-I mean…he's silent most of the time, that doesn't mean that nobody notices him." She mumbled and turned her head away. Ryoga sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess you can say that." Ryoga dropped the subject and patted her head,

"Ryoma forced you to be here."

OOOOOOOOOO

The tennis preliminaries were finally finished. The eight finalists would get a chance to practice in the next two weeks until the the start of the finals. Ryoga and Ryoma wouldtrain Sakuno big time. Minamoto Minako and Kato Izumi were two of the finalists. Sakuno remembered that Minako really wanted a match with hersomeday. Sakuno hoped that the match with her would come.

Passing through various sightings of Tokyo, Sakuno laid down in the back seats. She was really tired after hermatch. Ryoga watched her rest her eyes in the car mirror.

'Geez, you let her get this tired, Chibisuke?' Ryoga frowned. As Ryoga kept his eyes on the road, he couldn't help but spot a familiar figure walking alone by a bridge. Ryoga opened the car window as he took a closer look.

"HOY! CHIBISUKE! WE GOT A VICTORY!" Ryoga screamed out loud, making Sakuno hitting her head surprisingly by the hard top of the van.

"R-Ryoma-kun? Itai…" Sakuno sat up from her seat to see Ryoma stopping from where he was. She rubbed her head gently to ease the pain. Ryoga stopped the van by the curb and opened the automatic door for him. Ryoma muttered a thanks to Ryoga and slammed the door shut. He dropped his bag messily on the van floor and glanced at the window, avoiding the leering coming from two people.

Not trying to get on his bad side, Ryoga knew that his brother was heated up about something. He would talk to him about it in the house. He really felt bad for Sakuno, for she was sitting next to him.

'S-Something happened for sure…' Sakuno bit her lip nervously to peek a look at Ryoma. His eyes only gazed at the window. The van was on the curb and would be dropping Sakuno in no time.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Ryoma."

No response.

"Ryoma!" Ryoma glared at Ryoga for calling his name, "At least walk Sakuno to the door."

Sakuno waved her hands back and forth anxiously, "I-It's all right Ryoga. I'll go now. The next meeting is?"

"Uh…make it Tuesday," Ryoga replied, "I have some business to take care of tomorrow."

"Okay, bye." Sakuno opened the van door and slammed it closed. She was surprised hearing another slam from a door. Ryoma heaved a heavy sigh and waited for her to walk to her door. Sakuno timidly walked to the front of her home.

'Well…better open it…' Her hand reached the door knob until a voice startled her.

"Nothing to say to me today? Che." Ryoma leaned against a wall of the house. Sakuno observed Ryoma's coldness, getting really chilly. What had gotten him soticked off during the meeting?

Bravely, she attempted to ask what was wrong. That made matters worse when Ryoma glared at her harshly. Sakuno was really afraid of his cold look.

"There was no meeting."

Sakuno blinked, "N-No meeting?" She gripped her tennis bag tightly, "Didn't senpai-"

"They lied." He scowled. The grip had gotten tighter, as Sakuno didn't know what to do.

"Ryuzaki," He stated in a monotone voice, "they found out about me."

Blinking in surprise, Sakuno was taken back, "H-How-"

"Because of you, you opened your mouth at a time when you shouldn't! Inui-senpai and Fuji-senpai tracked me down."

'More like stalking…' Ryoma shook that thought out of his mind. He couldn't think with all this trouble, "JUST MY LUCK."

"Ryoma-"

"Ryuzaki," Ryoma turned his back on her, "Our little_ exchange_ is not worth it." And with that, Ryoma walked away, leaving poor Sakuno astonished as her heart brokein half.

"R-Ryoma…" She whispered, "WHY?!" Ryoma halted when he heard her shout of confusion, "WE DIDN'T KNOW IN THE FIRST PLACE THAT THEY WERE STALKING! IT'S NOT FAIR!" The girl accidentally let a tear drop fall from her beautiful rosy cheek.

"DOES IT MATTER? You should've been smart to keep quiet in the first place. You're better that way!" He replied.

"Ryoma…that's not the real reason,is it?"

"Ryuzaki," he began, "don't you get it? Everyday, I knew I always had bad feelings about this. I shrugged it off saying that it won't happen. Well guess what? It did. And I regret myself for not believing in it. That everything is all right, that no one except for my family and you to know- even Minamoto. I can't take anymore of this. I'm sorry."

Sakuno felt like a lightning bolt crashed through her body, paralyzing her to the core. She closed her eyes furiously, not having a care in the world. The door and slammed shut as Ryoma stayed silent, hearing the commotion inside when Ryuzaki-sensei saw her angry and emotional.

He lowered his head, hiding his eyes as he went back to the van.

Ryoma thought it was better this way.

OOOOOOOOOO

Sumire was minding her own business in the kitchen when she heard shouts and screams from the front yard.

'What in the world-' It was too late when Sakuno burst through the door in a hurry and ran upstairs in her room in tears. Sumire went to close the door swiftly so that she could figure out what happened to her granddaughter. Her eyes shot open when she saw a recognizable white van leaving the curb of the house.

'…Echizen?' She would settle that matter later. The old woman went up the stairs to stand in front of Sakuno's door.

"Sakuno?" The door was shut and completely locked. No answer came through the door. Sumire tried to listen in as she leaned her ear against the wood frame. She could only hear sniffles and crying.

"Mataku…" Sumire cared deeply for her granddaughter. She had to know what was going on. She knocked a few times to get Sakuno's attention. Not hearing a click or response, she decided to leave her alone until she calmed down. Concerned eyes wandered as she went back downstairs to make dinner.

OOOOOOOOOO

The door was finally unlocked. Sumire opened the door softly, taking a peek at what was going on.

A few hours passed and Sakuno did not say a word to anyone. She was in her own little world. Her pillows were stained with tears, unable to control them. The room was dark as the light yellow curtains in her window blocked the remaining light outside. It was already 5:00PM.

Sakuno sat up and wiped her tears quickly away with her hands, seeing her grandmother.

"If you want dinner, it's already done. I even have some ice cream for desert."

Sumire was only bribing her to come down so they could 'talk.' Sakuno nodded her head in return. Her eyes were bloodshot red and puffy when she was breaking down.

"H-H-Hai." She whispered hoarsely. The door creaked wider letting Sumire inside the room and sat down at the edge of the bed. She rubbed Sakuno's back soothingly, unwinding her as best as she could.

"What happened?" More grief engulfed her and Sakuno started to sob again. The old woman felt useless, letting Sakuno cry out sadness.

'I can't tell her…' Sakuno thought as she cried in her grandmother's shoulder, 'I can't tell her…that…I almost told him…but he stopped me…'

OOOOOOOOOO

The next day was Monday. The clouds were depressingly gray and the thought of a storm came in the minds of young junior high students entering Seishun Gakuen. Early in her seat, Sakuno gazed blankly at her desk. She had a restless night, thinking about the events that happened yesterday. She tried her best to believe that it was not her fault. Fuji-senpai and Inui-senpai must have kept an eye on Ryoma for a reason. However, they caught her saying it at the right time and eventually found out. Small chatter was heard in the front of the classroom and some at the back.

"Sakuno?" Sakuno looked up to see Tomoka with a worried face. Sakuno smiled awkwardly and waved at her best friend.

"Good morning, Tomo-chan."

"I haven't heard from you for the longest time. Did anything happen?" Tomoka questioned. Sakuno shook her head.

"Not much." Although by the expression on her face, she was guilty for lying.

Tomoka leaned towards Sakuno's ear, "Something happened for sure, Sakuno. We're going to have a good talk about it today."

"T-Tomo-"

"I'm not gonna let this slip by this time." Tomoka sat down on her seat, avoiding eye contact with Sakuno**- **for now. Tomoka's eyes wandered to the door, only to see the person she wished.

"Ryoma-sama! Good morning!" She cried in her cheerful voice. Sakuno tensed up, closing her eyes to not think about him.

"Eh? Sakuno! Ryoma-sama's here! At least say hi!" Tomoka realized that Sakuno didn't bother to say anything,she usually did. Sakuno gulped and took a quick glance at him. As she expected, it was the same face as yesterday, a face with ignorance and annoyance. She nodded her head as a greeting and decided to take out her homework.

'Sakuno-chan…' Tomoka didn't know what was wrong with her.

'Oh no! Homework!' Attending so much tennis practice, Sakuno forgot to do it! She was going to get into so much trouble…

OOOOOOOOOO

As expected, the dark sky had turned into a storm so tennis practice would be cancelled. Ryoma was lucky enough that he wouldn't meet his senpai-tachi today. He haddealt with too much lately. The rain drops pitter patter on his head, getting him soaked to the bone. So much for forgetting his umbrella. Exiting toward the gate, he heard a voice calling out his name.

"Echizen-san!"

Ryoma looked up to see Minako with a black umbrella above her, waiting for a response. Ryoma was oddly surprised how Minako found out about the school he wentto, and didn't know why she was here in the first place.

"Minamo-" Minako stopped his sentence with her hand up.

"Echizen-san…I think it's best if you call me Minako. Please. Minamoto-san makes me feel old." Ryoma shrugged his shoulders, "And the reason I'm here is to take you somewhere."

"… Question is where?" He replied.

Minako walked away, "Come along."

OOOOOOOOOO

Ryoma and Minako had stepped ontoa bus and both were dropped off fifteen minutes later.

"What's with your mood today?" Minako glanced at him, who returned a scowl.

"Noting." Ryoma walked forward, waiting for Minako to show him the way, "Well?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Minako was now in front of him, "Don't get so impatient on me."

"You wanted to take me somewhere. If you don't lead me to your destination, then I'm leaving-"

"We're here." Minamoto dully pointed at a one-story house, the front of the house had a small little tree with a swing tied in a strong branch. It was regular looking house, not too fancy or anything, with potted plants in the windowsill. It was a mahogany roof house, the outside walls were a bright yellow.

Minamoto opened the white front door with a key, closing up her umbrella while doing so.

"Tadaima." She whispered. She took off her wet shoes from the rain and put on house slippers. Ryoma did the same as an extra pair of slippers were in front of him.

"Ah, you really brought him over." Minako bowed with respect as her mother, Hana, poked her head in a corner, which Ryoma thought would be the kitchen.

"Echizen-kun,welcome."

Ryoma put his hands in his pockets and gazed around his surroundings. It was a plain old looking house, not too old-fashioned, and was decorated with paintings of flowers.

"Please sit down." Minako's mother took Ryoma to the kitchen, letting him sit down in a nicely decorated table. The wooden chair creaked against the hardwood floor as he settled down in a comfortable environment. In front of him was a nice cup of green tea and a piece of chocolate cake.

"Minamoto-san, I really don't-"

"Please eat." Minako's mother replied softly, "Maki made this cake and she'shoping that her guests will like it."

"Maki usually is antsy if no one eats her cake." Minako muttered to herself.

"And after…can I take a look at you?"

Minako sweat dropped as her mother went closer and closer to Ryoma. Ryoma was getting really uncomfortable, but gazed blankly back.

"You are already looking at me, so what's the point?" Hana gave and heart-filled chuckle.

"I just need want to take a look at your insomnia, how it is affecting you." Hana sat down in a chair, "You are very sweet."

OOOOOOOOOO

"OOOOH! SO SWEET!"

Tomoka took a sip of her favorite milkshake. She and Sakuno were both at the ice cream shop again, considering it was very cold outside with the rain. Not much people were there so they both were sitting at the booths near the window. Raindrops dropped down at a slow rate, water falling simultaneously dripping from the windows. Sakuno didn't even touch her fruit crepe that Tomoka treated her. Her eyes showed sadness and confusion.

_**"You should've been smart to keep quiet in the first place. You're better that way!"**_

Sakuno cringed hearing Ryoma's words over and over again. Why couldn't they just disappear like the falling raindrops outside? The odd silence besides the music playing in the shop was just unbearable. Tomoka's loud and obnoxious personality just couldn't take it.

"Sakuno-"

The bell from the doors rang, indicating that there was a customer. Unknowingly to Sakuno, the customer smirked. The customer first ordered something quickly to the cashier and walked over to the booths.

"Yukizo, nice to meet you." Tomoka glared at the person and patted Sakuno's shoulder.

"Sakuno-chan, do you know who she is?" She whispered intently.

Sakuno went back to reality, "Hmm?" Sakuno went to look at the upcoming person and she gasped softly.

"Izumi-san…"

OOOOOOOOO

"Take a seat please."

The room Hana and Ryoma were in right now was Hana's office. Ryoma sat on an uncomfortable cushion while Hana was at her front desk.

"Minako's picking up Maki at a play area, so she'll be back soon."

"The play area is outside?"

"No. It's like an auditorium where there are many activities for children to enjoy. Maki goes there everyday."

Ryoma nodded as he understood, "Minamoto-san, did Minako schedule this for me?"

Hana stopped writing forms for a bit and walked over to Ryoma, "Minako is really worried that you might hurt yourself in tennis. Apparently that happens a lot to you, eh?" Not receiving an answer, Hana knew that she was right. She softly touched Ryoma's cheek and took a good look at his eyes.

"Well, there's a slight chance of dark circles, but they rarely show." Hana went back to her desk to get a notepad.

"I'll be asking you a few questions, so don't think this is psychology or anything." Ryoma shrugged his shoulders. Minamoto Hana was only being kind to him and trying to help. Unlike _some _people…

"What time did you sleep last night?"

"Midnight." The information was written down with the pen in her hand.

"When did you wake up?"

"…Four AM."

"How was your usual sleeping schedule in the past?"

"Same, but I woke up earlier."

"Times?"

"One, two, or three AM."

"Well, it seems that the times are improving. Do you do any physical activity, like tennis, before you sleep?"

"…Not all the time."

"Did you do it last night?"

"No."

"Were the times like 1, 2, and 3 AM, times when you did play tennis at night?"

"Sometimes."

"Okay…" Hana continued writing, "Any medication you take to get you to sleep?"

"The doctor recommended me sleeping pills."

"How many do you take?"

"Only one."

"Good, good. You're doing well, Ryoma."

OOOOOOOOOO

There was a stirring silence when Kato Izumi stood near the booths, looking bored,and waited for her desert to come. She was dressed in a caramel-colored petticoat with high black boots. In her white gloved hand, she held onto a forest green umbrella, dripping simultaneously on the tiled floor. Tomoka puffed her cheeks with an annoyed face.

"Just who do you think you are walking into our conversation?"

Izumi laughed, "What conversation? Yukizo isn't even saying anything. Besides, _I'm _the one who should be talking to her. Yukizo, come step outside with me, please."

Tomoka shook her head furiously, "Sakuno, no. You don't even know this girl!"

"Ah ha. I believe she does. Right? And what's with the name Sakuno?" Izumi glared at her like a witch. Sakuno gazed at her indifferently.

"Sakuno, who is she? If you do know her, speak up! Say no!" Tomoka didn't like this feeling. Just what was Sakuno up to not telling her anything? Not taking any chances, her friend stood up from her seat. Tomoka and Izumi were waiting for her to do something.

"Izumi, what are you doing here?-"

"Excuse me? You will address me as Izumi-san."

"SHE DOESN'T NEED TO ADDRESS YOU!" Tomoka cried angrily. The employees of the ice cream shop gazed at the boiling fight.

"What do you want, Izumi?" Sakuno managed to speak up. She wasn't in the mood for her. Tomoka never knew this kind of side from her friend before.

"Because of the annoying little pest by you, I don't want feel like talking. Maybe I'll see you soon."

"PEST?!"

"Miss! Your fruit parfait order!" The cashier called out, holding the delictable treat.

"Okay." Izumi took one last cold look at Sakuno, then went to take her order and left the shop. The bells jingled once the door closed.

'It gets worse everyday…' Sakuno moaned.

"Sakuno, who was-" But before Tomoka could say anything else, Sakuno ran out of the shop in a flash.

"Sakuno!" Tomoka opened the door and lookedat both sides**- **the sidewalk was bare.

OOOOOOOOOO

"I see you have followed me." Sakuno panted roughly, seeing the figure that had interrupted Tomoka from saying anything else. Izumi lightly lifted up her plastic spoon and took a taste of her favorite treat. She smiled with satisfaction as she was kept dry below an outside umbrella table.

"Why are you here?"

"To talk to you." Izumi closed her eyes. Then they opened again to show her glare.

"What is it? What do you want?" Sakuno let all her anger and frustration out in one statement, Izumi wasn't fazed by the girl's reaction.

"Back out of the tournament." Sakuno's eyes widened, "Do you think that winning will give you praise and improvement? Well, you're wrong. It gives you more time to think about how you can be stronger and better than anyone else. Performances can be improved once one match ends. Then another, then another before you tire yourself out, wondering how much you can do."

"What does that have to-"

"Let me finish. Ryoma-sama does not deserve to train you. He's searching for those that can outmatch every single person, just like himself. You on the other hand, arejust practice for him."

"YOU'RE WRONG!"

"Yukizo, I'm just pointing it out. He should be training _me_ instead of _you._" The glaring girl went closer to the timid one. Sakuno backed up a few steps before she hit a metal pole. The pouring rain was getting harder and harder, never wanting to stop. It was soaking both of them to the bone. Izumi's breath tickled Sakuno's ear as she whispered her last words to her,

"Give it up. Ryoma HATES you."

OOOOOOOOOO

Minamoto-san continued to write more and more on her notepad. The information given to Ryoma was very important and she was happy that Ryoma answered more than she expected. Ryoma was an aloof one, she noted. He laid down on the couch looking all bored and whatnot. Although from the look in his eyes, he looked like he was about to pounce on someone if they got too close to him.

'Might as well…'

"Ryoma," Ryoma blinked out of thought and gazed at the woman who called him, "Are you feeling all right?"

"…I'm fine."

"Did anything happen?" Minamoto smiled, "You're Minako's friend. I will try and help you no matter what, okay?"

Ryoma sat up from where he laid down and clutched his cap that was left on the round table.

"Does it have to deal with the tournament?" Hana asked, "Is it giving you a hard time?"

Ryoma shook his head. Hana gave a small frown while rubbing her spectacles with a white cloth. Once she was about to put her glasses back on, Ryoma brought up a question.

"Ano…do you have fights with Minako?"

"Hm?" Minako thought for a moment while looking up at the ceiling in a daze, "Yes."

Ryoma waited for more, "There were times when I told her to not play tennis. That I worry about her constantly because ofher sleeping problem. She kept on telling me that she would only disobey me. I get angry at her, but fromtime to time, she has showed me improvement."

"I let her continue after that. There are times when I do not worry about her. She has showed me that she can take care of herself and know when her time is up. All that physical training I tested on her gave her more strength and stamina." Hana rested her hand on Ryoma's shoulder, "If Yukizo-chan is on your mind, don't worry too much. I'm sure that whatever she did, she did it for a reason."

"It's not what she did, but what she did to prevent it."

"Well, she did try, didn't she? Mistakes happen when you don't even notice it."

'Notice it…' Ryoma replayed Ryuuzaki's words. Did she say that Fuji and Inui…

_Oh…damn._

Was he only thinking about himself at that moment instead of others? Did he really shrug off whatever Ryuuzaki said and said what he thought was more important? Ryuuzaki hadbrought upa point, saying that his senpai WERE stalking him and hadtried to get it out of him. If his senpai were that desperate to know about what was wrong, then how come they didn't ask himin the first place? Instead of that idea, Fuji, of all people, played a set-up match.

Guilt overwhelmed Ryoma.

He didn't like it one bit.

"Ryoma?! Where are you going?!" Hana watched as the young teenage boy burst out of his chair and ran off on his own. Echoing inside the house, Hana heard her two daughters squeak with surprise.

"RYOMA?! What is it?" Minako called out. Ryoma was unable to answer,as he had just passed her out of the door and disappeared into ongoing rain.

OOOOOOOOOO

The downpour of rain increased harder and harder as ongoing traffic in Tokyo crowded the streets. Only the dim colored lights flashed on and off, never letting Tokyo stop its hustle and bustle.

_Huff…Huff…Huff.._

Her cold and harsh words were inside her head, never wanting to leave. Sakuno was soaking wet in the rain as she passed through the crosswalk. She was a far distance out of the ice cream shop, leaving her best friend inutter confusion. The only confusion she thought of was Ryoma.

'Why did I bother meeting him?' Sakuno sniffled, 'Was meeting him a mistake?'

_**I would NEVER reach his level… **_

…_**Ryoma-sama deserves to train me more that you!**_

_**RYOMA HATES YOU…**_

Sakuno's eyes showed a blank expression- no, more than that. It was showing sadness and remorse. She knew all her life that she was just a bother to everyone, that she was the spoiler to everyone's fun because of her way of thinking differently. She never knew that it could affect her so much like this. She gazed down from where she was standing, her crying face reflecting in the puddle. Without knowing, a tear drop fell as if time had stopped itself. She was shaking; she didn't know who she was anymore. She didn't know why she was living. All she could think about was running away from the world and that everything was all her fault.

With a split second, she fell down on her knees, kneeling down near a willow tree and let her tears run freely down her cheeks. Her feet let her reside near a child's playground; everything was wet with the pouring rain.

'I never should've attended this tournament…' Sakuno thought to herself, 'I can't even support myself…Why I'm doing this?'

"Oi, get up."

That voice!

Why did it sound so familiar? Sakuno shook her head, it must be her thoughts tricking her.

"R-…Sakuno…"

Sakuno blinked in bewilderment. Why did that voice,so distant from her, say her first name?

Wait…

Who was this person?

She wanted to find out herself, but she had no chance to when a pair of open arms hugged her petite form. Warmth and wetness mixed together and she was burning with someone else's body heat.

They were the arms of Echizen Ryoma.

"R-Ryoma?" She audibly whispered out loud. She wanted to get away from him, but his strong firm arms held her tight.

"Che. What are you doing here, baka? You're all wet."

Sakuno didn't say anything. She didn't know what was happening. She just didn't. Seeing the boy that she betrayed was just hurting her. She should not even make contact with him.

But…why was he hugging her?

"I should ask you…the same…question…" She said with light pants of breath. She didn't dare look up at those golden eyes, not right now, as they were filled with tears.

There was an overwhelming silence until Ryoma spoke up, "Looking for you."

Sakuno exaggerated her chuckle, "Why are you looking for me when you should be looking for someone else?"

Ryoma now had a frown on his face, "Why should I? There's no one else."

"Wha-what?"

His embrace loosened a little, yet still holding her, "I'm sorry for not listening to you."

Sakuno could barely gasp as he continued, "It's my fault for not telling my senpai anything about this. It's my fault that I snapped, thinking only about myself. It's my fault…that I made you feel this way."

Sakuno sat very still, "Sakuno…let us continue with the tournament and win this. Win it because you want to. Win it with me as your support. Win it…" He then whispered close to her ear, "because I told you to."

"But…what about-"

"I will talk to my senpai later and tell them that I'm alright. I just…"

"…want to keep your pride." Sakuno smiled as she closed her eyes with exhaustion, "Ryoma…"

"The exchange…let's just say, I'm getting better."

Sakuno quivered her lips and cried once more, "Ryoma-kun…" Her head rested in his chest, never wanting to leave the embrace.

The downpour of rain continued, but to the two teenagers that were sitting in the willow tree right now…

They felt like the rain stopped and a shine of light seeped through them in an instant. Sakuno could never believe that the tennis prince was like this, not in a million years. He had been hiding very well of what she believed was karma. Kato Izumi's harsh and cold words faded away. However, she would appear very soon in any possible match.

Either way, Sakuno would be ready.

She knew she would be with the now fully supported Echizen coaches by her side.

As for Ryoma, with the update that Minamoto Hana gave to him, he was sure that everything would be okay with his insomnia. But one question remained in his mind...

Why was his heart beating so fast when being near Sakuno?

* * *

**HaruCherry's Notes:** I apologize for my lateness. School and writer's block kept me away and I had no time to write much. This was the best I could do and I hope to get going with the next chapter.

Thank you so much for everyone's support. I appreciate everyone who is reading this fic. It means a lot to me.

I'll update as soon as I can. Thank you!


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